


Adapt or Die

by Avrina



Category: StarCraft (Video Games)
Genre: Abortion, Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, Eventual Romance, F/M, Flashbacks, Friendship, Hive Mind, Human Experimentation, M/M, Mind Control, Minor Character Death, Sex, Transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 22:50:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 19
Words: 92,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18508678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avrina/pseuds/Avrina
Summary: The battle of Char was a disaster. After Tychus tells an old fairytale, Stetmann comes up with the idea of using the results of "Project Bloodmoon" for evolving the humans, like the Zerg do. But like in the fairytale, more power causes more responsibility- and not everyone seems to be able to handle the situation...





	1. The Disaster of Char I

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Where All Paths Lead](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4722110) by [Jaili](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaili/pseuds/Jaili). 



"We could use some help here!", it bellowed from the comm. "The artifact is charged for 91%," announced the adjutant.   
"Damn, can we let go of a little wave?" Raynor demanded.   
"That's not to recommend, sir. It's already overcharged for that.", Stetmann moaned about the comm from the lab.   
"Then we have a problem.", Raynor muttered and Matt agreed with all his heart.

While the Raiders, with the help of General Warfield's forces, were looking on Char to stay in charge until the artifact was ready, the Hyperion and the fleet of Prince Valerian had their own worries in orbit. With every one percent that came along on the artifact's display, it became more difficult to withstand the Zerg and Mengsk Seniors fleet at the same time.

"Doesn’t look good, Jimmy." Tychus growled, suppressed.   
"No... no, not really." Raynor replied. Matt only half listened to the conversation; he had enough problems up here. "Yamato cannon?" "Another ten seconds, sir." "Our shields are about to collapse, Captain!" "Pulling energy-"   
"Matt!" Raynor sounded abnormally hectic.   
"Commander?"   
"Retreat troopships, immediately!"   
"Gladly, as soon as we can make sure they get down to it." Matt said far more calmly than he felt.   
"No, Matt, now! We cannot wait for the last few percent. We're being overrun!"   
"We up here, too. Commander, if I send troopships down to you _now_ , you'll only get scrap!"   
"We could activate the artifact," Valerian put in. Between Hyperion and Bucephalus, a leased line was established. "We may not save Kerrigan, but ourselves."   
Raynor growled in response. "Jimmy, think. If you die now, you will not get a second chance." Tychus spoke up.   
"But Commander, sir, the artifact has 95%! If we now-" Stetmann began, but was interrupted by a growling Swann from the armory: "If you splash our troopships, Cowboy, you can come over afterwards and work off the damage!" Suddenly the hell was going on in the comm and Matt had the childish urge to shut his ears; somehow, everyone seemed to have something to say about the situation. He opened a new comm to the transporter bay.   
"Prepare enough troopships," he said quietly. "Sir?", one of the bridge officers asked irritated.   
"Activate the artifact." "Bu-but Captain!" Came another contradiction. Matt pointedly took a deep breath. "Yes, sir." Came the urgent reply. If Raynor wasn’t in control of the situation, it was Matt's turn, after all, he was the second-in-command, and if Raynor wanted to complain about insubordination, well, then he could be glad he had the opportunity to do so.   
"Artifact at 98%," an officer announced, while in the background Valerian was about to scream.   
"Activate." Matt repeated.   
"99%.", The officer said and pressed the button.

Matt didn’t quite know what he had expected, but only seconds later, Char's dusty atmosphere gave a jolt and then the ship staggered. "Send the transporters!"   
"Yes, sir." The mess in comm had died and for a moment the silence was almost scary.   
"Matt." "Yes, Commander?" "When I'm back on the bridge, we need to talk." "I know, sir."   
"Jimmy, leg it, or you'll talk only to the Zerg," Tychus grunted, and Warfield cleared his throat.   
"Raynor, I'll cover your retreat."   
"You'll come along nicely, General." Raynor retorted.   
"You saved my ass here, now I save yours. See that you leave both the Zerg and the Emperor behind." "What?" "Dominion troops landed near your position two minutes ago."   
"General, we cannot-" Valerian began, but was interrupted by a soft female voice: "Valerian, the Emperor." "Of course."   
"Are the troopships on touchdown?" Matt asked between them, although he could see on the ads that almost all were on the landing. "More or less.", Growled Raynor.   
"Get in, go!" Tychus yelled at the remaining Raiders, "Commanders and VIPs first!" "Tychus!" "Hey, come on, Jimmy..." Matt sighed and turned back to the Mengsk Fleet problem because it was- as the opposite for the most part of the Zerg- still there.

“Valerian, call your captains. Once the troopships are back here, we'll have to go." Matt said as the prince reappeared after his father-son conversation.   
"Of course. Give Vaughn the coordinates.", Valerian answered calmly, but a quick glance told Matt that he had to be extremely upset inside; cheeks flushed, mouth pinched. "Although I'm not sure how many ships in my fleet are capable of a warp jump," he added.   
"We’ll see soon," said Matt curtly and turned to the star map. First, they had to disappear and take stock, then they could look for a quiet spot for repairs. "Captain Vaughn, I'll send you coordinates for a meeting place. Pass them on to the rest of the jumpable fleet.", he said to the captain of the Bucephalus. "Sure.", He replied simply. Shortly afterwards, an officer announced: "The troopships are back, all the compartments closed."   
"Ready to jump!" Called Matt and Vaughn echoed the command. "Jump in ... three ... two ... one ..."


	2. A wolf in a marine-suit

Some days earlier...

Erynn hurried her way through the Bucephalus to Prince Valerian's rooms, holding her datapad close. Whoever met her in the hallway politely nodded to her and she returned the gesture. After the last conversation with the rebel commander, Valerian had withdrawn and she had seized the opportunity to follow the whisper of the little voice in the back of her head, telling her that there was more to Tychus Findlay than it seemed to be. She knew the name from somewhere, and she was glad that her safety clearance had not been reduced after the split between the two Mengsks; after all, she was Valerian's personal adjutant.

"Erynn." Valerian said in surprise but visibly tired as she stepped in front of his desk. "You should rest."   
"You should rest too," she replied, activating her datapad and handing it to the prince.   
"What is..." His question remained unfinished as he read; his mouth was half open and his plucked eyebrows curled. Finally, he cleared his throat. "What do you think: _let's tell Raynor_ or _we'll take care of it ourselves_?" Erynn shrugged. The fact that the former convict had escaped the New Folsom Cryo prison in a legal way was already a sensation itself - whoever went there didn’t see freedom again. But that he was put in a special space-marine suit controlled by Arcturus Mengsk was none of her business. Well, except for the fact Valerian was too eager to de-infest Kerrigan, and Findlay was sent to prevent that. And Valerian's wish was her command.  
"You have no opinion on this?", He asked doubtfully and raised an eyebrow.   
"Everything we discuss with Findlay sooner or later will reach your father, that's a fact. If we talk to Raynor, he will want to talk to Findlay. So... ", she stifled a sigh, "... we'll have to get Findlay out of his suit directly and without notice." On Valerian's face appeared a delicate smile.   
"And how do we do that? A wrong move is enough to irreparably damage or directly kill his organism." She pressed her lips together for a moment.   
"Leave that to me." The smile grew.   
"I can always count on you." "Of course." She smiled curtly and he stood up. Instantly she took a stance, but he walked around the desk until he stood in front of her and looked down at her.   
"Lieutenant..." "Prince Valerian..." Instead of looking at him, she studied his uniform at collarbone level. Gently, he put his gloved fingers to her chin and she raised her eyes.   
"How long have you been working for me?"   
"Two years, sir. And with all respect, this Prince Charming behavior does not work for me." His gray eyes sparkled with amusement.   
"Oh, no?" She straightened her shoulders and cursed herself that she had been weak already before; it wasn't the first time they had this conversation.  
"No, sir."   
"Well then..." He lowered his mouth to hers and her lips parted almost immediately. She may have been a few years older than him, but she had never met a man who had this effect on her- and after he realized, he loved to play with her. Her knees softened as he bit her lower lip gently.   
"Take care of Mr. Findlay. But please not in the same way you do to me," he murmured.   
"Valerian!" Her protest was stifled by another kiss, then he let her go.   
"It's called _Prince Valerian_ ," he corrected her with gentle mockery.   
"And I am _Lieutenant General_ ," she replied, not half as cool as she would have liked.   
"I'm sorry, I forget about it from time to time..." He looked like he was losing himself in her eyes. In moments like these, she regretted taking on the post of personal adjutant.

The Hyperion bar was well filled, but there was obviously space around Findlay and Raynor. Erynn wound her way between the tables until she reached the two men. Although Raynor seemed quite busy with his bottle, he immediately noticed her.   
"You're Junior's adjutant."   
"Right, Commander." She nodded politely. "I have to ask Mr. Findlay some questions."   
"Oh. And why?", He wanted to know and blew a cloud of smoke from the open helmet.   
"Because you're obviously close to Commander Raynor, and that reveals questions sooner or later, which I'd like to be able to answer when Prince Valerian presents them to me." Findlay arched a critical eyebrow.   
"And what are these answers supposed to be? I mean-" his gaze was a greasy grin, "you're his personal adjutant. Surely you can take a look at my file."   
"Of course. But some things are not written in the files, Mr. Findlay." Her shy eyesight worked because the answer was a laugh.   
"Okay, okay ..."   
"Can we talk somewhere in peace?", She wanted to know and he nodded.

"So, honey, what kind of questions do you have?" Findlay asked, leaning casually against the wall, which made him look a bit silly, considering his suit.   
"First of all..." Erynn handed him her datapad, "I would like to know if this is correct, Mr. Findlay." The metal fingers took the datapad carefully and immediately she reached out with her psionic power for him. She had checked in advance the standard suits of the marines in order to find possible changes faster - and it paid off.  
She was just raising her eyes as he lowered the datapad. "That's right so far."   
"Very nice," she answered, clearing her throat. "Please, Mr. Findlay, you can leave your suit now."   
"I would like that, sweetheart, but-" He frowned, and the visor closed, presumably to control the helmet displays. Then the hydraulic began to whir and the visor opened again. "What the hell did you do with my suit?" He growled suspiciously.   
"If I'm properly informed, Mr. Findlay, you've made a pact with the Emperor for a little freedom, with which you can only lose," she replied calmly as his suit unfolded around him. "And you know that," she added under his scowl.   
"You're a Ghost, huh?"   
"No. But I have psionic abilities which you just got out of there." From the impressively large metal suit peeled a no less impressive tall man who wore only orange prisoner pants. He stretched and strained, rolled his shoulders, then glanced at the suit. When he looked back at her, he grinned widely.   
"Yeah, baby, I owe you one."   
"Good to know." Her tight smile escaped her, as he looked at her very interested and adjusted completely superfluous his manhood in his loose pants.   
"You don’t want to help me with another problem, too?" He asked pointedly, but with a cautious undertone.   
"No, Mr. Findlay. I'm afraid my given competences won’t be enough." She forced a smile. "Enjoy your freedom." And then she returned to the Bucephalus.


	3. The Disaster of Char II

Matt rubbed his eyes. The flash of light that accompanied a warp jump had hit his tired eyes hard and he saw white spots dancing. "How many ships jumped with us?", He wanted to know.  
"Beside the Bucephalus- the Heracles and the Antigone.", Hall replied softly.  
"Only those three?" Matt looked up in surprise.  
"Yes, sir."  
"Damn," he murmured, reopening a connection to Bucephalus. Valerian answered immediately.  
"Captain Horner." He seemed a bit shaken.  
"Somehow I expected more of your ships," Matt said.  
"Yes, me too." Valerian said softly. For a moment they looked at each other silently.  
"I want a full status report," Matt then told his crew. "And connect me to Swann."  
"Yes, Captain."  
"Swann, how is it going?", He asked as the bearded face of the chief engineer appeared on the screen.  
"If I could work and not have to talk, even better," was the gruff answer. "But otherwise ... could be worse. She's still in one piece." That was not exactly what Matt had wanted to hear.  
"Then I don’t bother you." Without another word, Swann broke the connection and then it was uncomfortably quiet again until Raynor and Tychus entered the bridge. Both looked really tired out.  
"Commander."  
"Captain ..." Raynor looked grim.  
"If you want, you can blame me for insubordination, but keep in mind that you can do that," Matt said quickly.  
"Yeah," Raynor said slowly, "that's the problem."  
"Pardon?" Irritated, Matt looked at him, all the more as an embarrassed grin spread across Raynor's face.  
"You've been saving my ass so many times in the past few years that I should actually have to grant you a statue."  
"Um ..." Matt swallowed. "My outstanding pay would be enough for me." It was the point where Tychus in the background got a fit of laughter and choked on the smoke of his just-started cigar. Raynor patted Matt on the back and nodded, apparently not knowing what else to say. But Matt himself was a little speechless, so it did not bother him.  
"Commander ... we should probably talk about-" Valerian began with a fine hawking and eyed Tychus critically, who, with a chuckle, wiped a tear of smile from the corner of his eye. "- what happened and how we proceed. The artifact has-"  
"Sir, ships!" Cade interposed.  
"What?" Matt, Raynor and Valerian did at the same time.  
"The Dominion Fleet. They found us!"  
"Impossible!" Hall said. "The captain has sent the coordinates in our special encryption. If Mengsk caught them, he wouldn’t have been able to decipher them that fast." Matt didn’t bother with discussions.  
"Shields up and everyone in position!", He commanded. Not a moment too soon, for the first long-range guns left the Hyperion shivering.  
"Anything to tell me, Junior?" Raynor asked furiously to Valerian.  
"Is there something to tell? I almost lost my entire fleet out there because I believed in the Raiders and the artifact. Why should I betray you now?" Valerian asked sourly.  
"To make Daddy happy?"  
"I forbid any insinuation in that direction!"  
"Sir..." Matt said carefully, but neither Raynor nor Valerian paid any attention to him.  
"I have-"  
"Jim!" That worked.  
"What?" Raynor hissed at Matt.  
"I don’t think that's his fault."  
"No cowboy," Swann said, to which Matt had once again opened a comm. "When the Hyperion changed hands, we spent hours trying to remove all the bugs, remember?"  
"Yes. So you think Arcturus also bugged the ship of his son?" Raynor frowned morosely.  
"Would be the simplest explanation, don’t you think?"  
"Damn ..."  
"Doesn’t sound like we could just walk away." Tychus remarked and Valerian asked cautiously: "Do you know anything about bugs, Mr. Swann?" Swann grinned, though the prince could not see it over the double Comm.  
"Let me and a few of my people get over to you."  
"Of course..." Valerian said, sounding uncomfortable now, but Matt suspected he didn’t like the whole situation. Who faced his father with such powers behind him?  
"What about the Heracles and the Antigone?" Matt wanted to know. Valerian glanced aside and grimaced.  
"The Antigone will definitely not make another jump. The Heracles yes, but she's also badly beaten. As for the bugs, I doubt my father took the trouble to prepare all his ships. I didn’t inform him in advance about who I chose for my fleet."  
"Well, at least something...", Raynor growled, still moody. The prince pressed his lips together for a moment, but Hall called in between.  
"Sir, as soon as Swann and his engineers have changed the ship, we should get out of here."  
"A jump won’t buy us that much time…" Raynor said critically and Matt shook his head.  
"We have no idea how many jumps the Hyperion survives at all. But staying here and getting shot into junk is not an option, that's right."

Five small warp jumps and a bunch of battles later, the Hyperion was on her last legs. For the first time Matt wasn’t sure if they could do it. He stared at the star chart without really seeing anything, while Raynor gave orders in the background. Swann growled that he still wasn’t sure he had found all the bugs and the Captain of the Heracles told Valerian that they were barely maneuverable. "Shit..." Matt mumbled untypically and closed his eyes for a moment. The Hyperion shook and trembled, with all the nervous tension the air on the bridge could have been cut.   
"How many jumps we will be able to do?" He asked softly.  
"In the current condition? If we're lucky... one.", The technical officer replied with a pessimistic tone. In addition to luck, they needed fire-free time and that was just in short supply, because the White Star was not necessarily slow to pursue the chase- the vision of getting the famous James Raynor was probably too tempting for the Emperor.  
In Matt's mind, his thoughts and ideas tumbled, then he looked up at the Comm. "Valerian, think about my suggestion before you say _no_."  
"I'm open to anything," was the pragmatic answer.  
"We sacrifice the Heracles."  
"No."  
Matt sighed. "What did I just say?"  
"But-" Valerian began to protest, but Matt shook his head.  
"The Heracles will be evacuated and then sent by autopilot on a collision course with the White Star. The bugging detection technique is unlikely to be on all ships, and I'll bet Daddy Mengsk will attend the finale in person." Valerian grimaced, then turned his head as a dainty hand was placed on his upper arm. Matt frowned and Raynor muttered to him:  
"His adjutant." "Sweet little thing. And intelligent.", Tychus remarked from the background. Matt shot him a quick glance and Raynor lifted the corners of his mouth. "Tattled Tychus out of his suit." Before Matt could comment, Valerian said quietly:  
"The suggestion is the only workable option we have. But we cannot evacuate the Heracles under fire."  
"She’s still able to jump? "Raynor asked critically. "Otherwise, both the element of surprise and the crew will go down the drain."

The Heracles did it. Matt paid tribute to Valerian's people, because as quick as the evacuation went, the Raiders wouldn’t have made it. The last transports were just disappearing into the Hyperion's and Bucephalus's bellies when the White Star appeared, followed by five other battlecruisers and commented on by Swann, who had finally made the last bugs harmless. Then the two ships gave everything they had while the Heracles began to move heavily. Unprompted, another window suddenly popped up on the big screen and Arcturus Mengsk looked at them. He seemed annoyed, as if his unruly son wasn’t already twenty-three but only five.  
"Listen, Valerian, I understood your intentions. Every young man has a rebellious phase..." While Mengsk Senior gave an exaggerated paternal lecture, Matt raised an eyebrow almost amused, while Valerian blushed with rage and shame. "You don’t have to run from your father."  
"I'm not running away!" Mengsk Junior hissed.  
"No, we really don’t," someone intervened.  
"What?" The Emperor asked irritated.  
"Captain Roger Merriman, sir," the man said quietly. "My grandfather used to say _No one runs away. You just need space to get started_. Prince Valerian, I was honored to serve with the Heracles."  
"No!" Valerian exclaimed in perfectly played horror. If the Emperor hadn’t paid his attention to his son, he would have noticed earlier, but now his order to dodge came way too late.  
"Hyperion, Bucephalus- prepare for warp jump." Matt commanded, watching with quiet satisfaction as the Heracles rammed the White Star.  
"Ready to jump, sir!"  
"Jump in ... three ... two ... one ..."


	4. Nice to meet you - again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters will be a bit "emotional", but I want to introduce Erynn and her "relationships" in a proper way, after all she's a main character.

Valerian leaned against the doorframe of Erynn's bathroom and could not help smiling. "If Raynor reflects the standard Raider, you look stunning enough in your uniform alone." Erynn frowned critically and put another hairpin in her bun, before answering.  
"And if the Captain sets the standard, a few hairpins more can’t hurt." Valerian could not argue with that, because even for his standards, Captain Horner looked extremely stiff. "And besides, I don’t want to raise any doubts about my professionalism," she added, putting on her usual stern expression.  
"I'm afraid that's unavoidable. A handsome prince and a stunning adjutant...?" Actually, Valerian was not in the mood for any jokes at all, given the fact that the two battlecruisers were sitting somewhere in space for a deserved respite, licking their wounds. But on the other hand, a little humor could not hurt. Erynn for her part rolled her eyes and gave him a pat on the arm.  
"My very good-looking prince should keep an eye on the problem. Not on any breathtaking parts of his adjutant's body."  
"Maybe that's exactly the- okay, okay, let's go..." He silenced under her stern gaze.

\---

Two marines of the prince troops and two Marines of the Raiders escorted the two to the bridge of the Hyperion, where they wanted to meet for better communication. In the normal corridors you didn’t get much from the precarious situation of the ship, although it would have urgently needed a thorough cleaning. Arcturus would probably have clapped his hands over his head if he had seen in detail the somewhat careless handling of his former flagship.  
" _Hyperion_ , Greek Titan and Lord of the East and the Light, Father of Helios, Eos and Selene ..." Valerian murmured as they passed an engraved wind rose symbol at an intersection where the east was clearly highlighted and next to which a rising sun shone.  
"Very poetic.", Erynn remarked dryly.  
"Don’t you think so? Sounds hopeful for me," he said quietly. Promptly a lamp went out over their heads. Erynn snorted.  
"A little more poetry would do you good," he murmured a little miffed and got a mischievous grin.  
"Your poetry nights are enough for me."  
"What?"  
"You know as well as I do that a glass of wine too much-" "Erynn..." "What? I really only listen to the harmless things. Nothing against dirty fantasies, but-"  
"That's enough!" Amused, she winked at him and he blushed. The Marines around them didn’t show if they had listened to the subdued conversation, but his weakness for erotic Poetry shouldn’t know the whole sector. "This, my dear, has an aftermath." On her face was again only the usual severity to see when she simply said: "I know."

When they reached the bridge, an officer nodded narrowly at them and pointed to a door leading into a small meeting room. Valerian politely nodded to the three physical attendants and the two of them attending through the comms, but before he could speak, Raynor said: "The situation is as it is – it sucks. So." He looked at Erynn, then nodded toward the others. "Tychus Findlay, Captain Matt Horner, Chief Engineer Rory Swann and Lieutenant Rosa Morales."  
"Nice to meet you," Erynn said with a surprisingly audible smile, and irritably, Valerian found the opposite expression in Captain Horner's baffled face.  
"My adjutant, Lieutenant-General Erynn-" "Erynn is quite enough," she interrupted.  
"Um, yes ... How can-"  
"Staring is rude." Findlay grunted and nudged Horner. He blushed hard and cleared his throat as Morales chuckled. Valerian had to pull himself together so as not to roll his eyes - instead, Raynor did that for him.  
"How can the state of the Hyperion be summarized?" Valerian finally asked his question.  
Embarrassed silence was the answer until Swann said with a snort.: "If it wasn't for my baby, I'd just say _throw it away and buy it again_." Raynor and Horner grimaced in anguish. "We desperately need a dry dock and supplies."  
"And if we manage to keep the ship from falling apart under our feet, we desperately need all sorts of everyday commodities, too," Morales added. As she rolled uncomfortably, Valerian saw the mark of a medical officer. "Had we had more time for the evacuation of the Heracles..." She cleared her throat. "Whatever. It is missing at every detail. And that already starts with the toilet paper."  
"How does it look on the Bucephalus?", Raynor asked after another silence the counter question.  
"Since the Bucephalus, with all due respect for your abilities, Mr. Swann, is in a much better basic state than the Hyperion, we may be able to do without a dry dock, but our engineers would not be very happy about it." Erynn answered gravely. Untypically, she had her hands clasped behind her back, reflecting Horner's posture, which gave the situation an almost funny look. "As for the commodities, we could help the Hyperion, but of course our supplies are not unlimited."  
"Of course not." Horner agreed. "What are the forecasts, now that the crew of the Heracles has arrived?"  
"At full rations we get four days off." Erynn answered promptly. "Up to a week we could stretch."  
"And if the Bucephalus shares their supplies with us?"  
"We come stretched to about three days."  
"What about material for repairs?" Horner asked further and Valerian got the feeling to be completely gratuitous. The two could have handled the whole thing alone.  
"That's where Mr. Swann has to deal with our engineers."  
"I see." The two nodded at each other.  
Normally, Valerian would have been quite proud of the impression his adjutant made on his counterpart, but the way she smiled at Horner, he didn’t like it at all.  
Findlay snorted. "So we practically need a flying merchant to bring us the supply directly to the front door."  
"You could say so." Morales nodded.  
"That will hardly happen." Valerian shook his head.  
"Well, if the flying merchant doesn't come to us, we'll just go to him." Raynor said and shrugged.  
"Easy, cowboy. Until we fix one or the other problem, we're not going anywhere." Swann said morosely.  
"Can you make us fit enough to get to Deadman's Port?" Raynor asked.  
"I'll do my best." Swann muttered and disappeared from the screen; Morales took this as a hint and did the same.  
"Do we need to?" Muttered a suddenly uncomfortable-looking Horner.  
"Do you know a better dump where you can buy anything your heart desires?" Findlay asked amused.  
"... no.", Horner admitted and Raynor started to grin.  
"So ... call Mira."  
"Miss Mira Han?" Valerian interjected.  
"Yes."  
"We are known, so if-"  
"Not necessary." Raynor's grin grew even further. " _Matthew_ has an ace up his sleeve." Horner looked tormented. "Maybe we should play poker with her again," Raynor continued to mock him gently.  
"I'll never play poker again, sir." Horner said grimly. Valerian would have liked to know what it was all about.  
"You've lost."  
"Thank goodness."  
"What's the problem?" Valerian asked curiously.  
"There's no problem," Raynor said in amusement, while Horner grunted at the communication terminal: "The problem is Mira’s exaggerated and extremely embarrassing interest in me."  
"But it brought us an extra-secure connection," Raynor said. Findlay kept his smile in the background, but Erynn said neutrally: "Is Mira not the girl of your dreams?" Horner paused and got red ears, then glanced over his shoulder at Erynn, who smiled strangely softly.  
"Not at all."  
"I thought so."  
Valerian corrected his first impression about there being a particular attraction between the two at first glance- they knew each other. Following the faces of Raynor and Findlay, they both came to the same conclusion, but before anyone could comment, Mira Hans's pink hair appeared on the screen.  
"Matthew! It feels so good to see your lovely face again!" She was purring as if she was a playful kitten waiting to be petted. _Matthew_ , on the other hand, struggled with a smile.  
"Hello Mira..."  
"Are you finally calling to make a date?" Mira winked and even Valerian had to smile at Horner's expression.  
"Not quite." Horner cleared his throat. "We need your help."  
"I do what I can." The playful tone disappeared from her voice.  
"We have two battlecruisers here which would have to hide in one of the junkyards for repairs."  
"Hmm," Mira said thoughtfully, evidently turning to another screen. "Hmm. Yes. The places delta-eight and delta-nine would have to fit. Big and quiet, but not too isolated. Do you already have a shopping list?"  
"Still in work. I'll send it to you."  
"Good. But tell me, why two?"  
"Um..." Horner looked at Valerian.  
"Mr. V sends greetings, Miss Han." Erynn shouted and Mira laughed softly.  
"Ah. Unexpected alliances please me. Matthew, when you come here, you have to visit me at home."  
"Um..." Horner squirmed, but she continued: "And Erynn, on the occasion, you must come by for tea. It has been way too long since I have had a pleasing conversation among women." Erynn laughed in response.  
"If it can be set up." Mira grinned widely.  
"All right then. We'll hear us later, Matthew." She blew him a kiss and closed the comm. Horner sighed in relief.  
"Matt, as soon as Swann gives us his _okay_ , we'll be on our way," Raynor said.  
"Very well, Commander."  
"In the meantime, let's get a nap. Or a drink. Or both," said Findlay in a good mood. Valerian however looked at Horner questioningly.  
"Excuse me, Captain, but did you really say we would be hiding in a junkyard? I mean, I could have misheard, but ..."  
"No, you heard right." Horner smiled thinly. "You've never been to Deadman's Port, have you?"  
"No. A trip to such a planet was not necessarily on my set of courses. I highly doubt that my father considers mercenaries and all kinds of criminals to be the right company." Valerian frowned. Actually, he had a thick skin, but when it came to his background or his education, he became sensitive.  
"It's never too late to make new experiences." Horner's smug smile went against his grain, yet he said politely: "I agree with you."  
"And I agree with Mr. Findlay that a bit of sleep would do well." Erynn interjected.

\---

It was only when the door to his rooms was already in sight that Valerian commented at once: "You seem to know Captain Horner." Erynn nodded curtly.  
"Yes."  
"Where from?"  
"From earlier." The answer was not very pleasing. Valerian nodded to the guarding Marines at his door and entered the access code. As soon as the door closed behind them, he asked: "Could you explain that a little bit further?" The answer was a long thoughtful look, followed by: "No. I would like to rest for a while." Without waiting for his approval, she turned away and disappeared through the connecting door into her own small office.  
He stared after her for a moment, then entered his bedroom. Slowly he took off his gloves and untied the cloak and shoulder straps, put down his sword and slipped out of the heavy uniform jacket so that he only wore the thin shirt underneath. A quick glance in the mirror told him he still didn’t look like a normal young man. He sighed to himself.  
The subliminal familiarity that he had perceived between Erynn and Horner- and this impression became more and more pronounced- did not appeal to him. If that was jealousy, it was a very unpleasant feeling. Well, actually, there was nothing between himself and Erynn except a strong sexual attraction that erupted more or less regularly, but the smile that she had given Horner...  
Without further ado, he turned and literally sneaked into Erynn's bedroom, she had taken off her boots and jacket and curled up on the bed with her back to the door. He sat down beside her on the bed and placed a hand on her waist; although she had closed her eyes, she was awake because she did not flinch.  
After a while, she said softly: "I wanted to sleep a little."  
"If you really wanted to sleep, you would have opened up your hair," he replied, pulling a hairpin out of her bun.  
Her hair was a little brighter than his, and the eyes that looked at him resignedly as she turned to face him were green rather than gray, but they would still have gone through as siblings.  
She sighed and covered her face with her hands as he began to rotate his fingertips over her stomach.  
"Stop that."  
"I warned you there would be an aftermath. There are things I would like to keep within my privacy."  
"You started with the poetry."  
"So what? You're my adjutant."   
She sighed again, but for a moment she smiled. "It's fun to annoy you a little bit."  
"Every now and then, I agree," he purred, sliding his hand under her shirt and into her bra. Immediately, she grabbed his arm to push him away, but only seconds later he held her wrists over her head down on the pillow and pinched her warningly into the nipple. She twitched and he leaned forward. She opened her mouth a little in anticipation of a kiss, but he nibbled instead at her neckline up to her ear.  
"Do you know each other well?", He wanted to know.  
"Yes," she said quietly, shuddering as he began to massage the other nipple.  
"Were you a couple?"  
"No." He kissed her neck and slid his hand slowly under her waistband. As if by coincidence, his fingertip brushed her pearl and she shuddered again. It was a mystery to him how a woman like Erynn could simply melt away on his touch, like butter in the sun, but he enjoyed it all too much to seriously worry about it; he also had too little experience with women- except Erynn namely none.  
"You had sex?" He asked.  
"No. There was never anything like that between us.", She mumbled.  
"Did you want to have sex with him?"  
"Yes." He withdrew his hand from her pants and she gave a low-pitched protest that died as he bit her throat gently.  
"Do you still want him?" Her hesitation was answer enough and he growled. Almost subservient, she offered her throat again and she whispered: "No." His lips slid down her neck and over her chin.  
"Who do you want then?" Would he ever get tired of this little game?  
"You." Now she deserved a kiss.

\---

The days when he could close the door behind him and was just _Matt_ were long gone. He was _always_ captain and _always_ second-in-command, no matter what time showed the clock. But when he slipped under the covers in his faded sleep clothes, he didn’t care. How long he had not seen Erynn? Six years? Seven? More? Had he been asked a few hours ago if he wanted to see her again, he probably would have said _no_ , but now he was not so sure. Her cheeks had narrowed and gave her a really serious expression as long as she was not smiling. But if she smiled ... The dimple on the left side was still more pronounced than on the right, and she'd had the mole on the right corner of her eye removed, which she had found so ugly. Why did _Erynn_ has to be Valerian's adjutant, of all people? Why did she has to be his _adjutant_? He sighed and buried his face in the pillow.  
  
_"You don’t look like you've got anything about Gibson's explanations."_  
_"You know me. For me, chemistry is what comes out when a toddler plays with the alphabet. "_  
_"Watch it or you'll fail chemistry."_  
_"And you, **my dear Erynn** , should take care of your politics grades."_  
_"Sometimes, **my dear Matt** , I hate you. But you know what? We’re making a deal. I'll come by tomorrow and we'll do homework together. "_  
_"You always make the best deals."_


	5. Women, Jealousy and Memories

Matt had sent Mira the lists she had teased as a _shopping list_. Now she looked critically at him and shook her head. "It's going to be expensive."   
"Don’t tell _me_ , but Raynor and Mr. V.," Matt retorted. Fortunately, she was not in a flirt-mood but pleasingly realistic.   
"As for Mr. V, I'm not worried, but James has always been short of cash." An apologetic shrug was the only reply Matt could give, but in the background Tychus muttered: "Maybe we should start again to catch a few trains. What do you think, Jimmy?"   
Raynor sighed wistfully. “Those were the days…” Meanwhile, Erynn had sauntered over and leaned sideways against the terminal so that Mira could at least see half of her.   
"You know, Matt, maybe you should accept Mira's invitation and visit her.", She suggested and smiled mischievously.   
"Oh yes!", Mira remarked enthusiastically.   
"Then you could combine the pleasurable with the useful and personally negotiate a small friendship discount." Erynn continued, winking at him.   
"I'm not sure if-" he began, but Mira interrupted him: "Oh, Matthew, there is no protest! When you land, I'll pick you up, okay?" She had found her purr again and Matt had a stomach ache - they were practically landing. "Otherwise, I've found two merchants who can provide you with the bare minimum for fair prices. However, neither James nor Mr. V should personally deal with them. I don't trust them that far."   
"All right," Matt said and nodded weakly.   
"See you later, my dear." He got a blown kiss and the screen went black.

"Erynn?"   
"Hmm?" She gave him an innocent smile.   
"Sometimes I hate you."   
"I know." She patted his arm encouragingly. "But Raynor would have suggested the same to you sooner rather than later."   
"Exactly." Raynor promptly remarked.   
"But Mira is interested in my privacy and it doesn’t matter here!" Matt protested. But now Valerian, who had been quietly listening, said: "Your post within the Raiders comes with responsibilities and duties, Captain, and they occasionally demand a small sacrifice." Matt grimaced while Raynor nodded in agreement to the prince.   
"Do you remember what we swore after we left with the Hyperion?"   
Matt sighed deeply. " _Together to the gates of hell and beyond._ Are you telling me that Mira is a corner of my personal hell?"   
Before Raynor could speak, Erynn said with an annoyed undertone: "Do you realize how hurtful you’re behaving? You're acting as she’s the plague." Matt opened his mouth, but Erynn gently shook her head. "I don’t know how much of her interest in you is real, but you could just give her a little more kindness and pack your very obvious rejection a bit nicely." Anger rose in him and he straightened his shoulders.  
"Excuse me, but _I don’t like her!_ And I don’t like the fact that you're all trying to push me into her bed!"   
"Other men wouldn’t have a problem with having a little fun for negotiation." Tychus casually interjected, and as casually as him Raynor said: "Even you should have noticed by now that Matt isn’t quite normal, Tychus." Out of the corner of his eye, Matt saw Valerian raise an eyebrow questioningly as Erynn's mouth twitched.   
"Jim?" This was not the time for the title.   
"Yeah?"   
"What exactly are you trying to say?"   
"Oh, just that you don’t fit the average." Raynor shrugged. "Woman of Dreams or not, but to make her happy should be possible for you. Even with your somewhat antiquated philosophies." Now Erynn actually chuckled while Matt took a deep breath.   
"This is the first, only and last time that I actually conduct personal negotiations!" He turned and walked towards the door of the bridge.   
"Where do you want to go?" Raynor called after him.   
"Change." Matt hissed.   
"Have fun!" Erynn shouted to him in amusement.   
"Fuck you!"   
"Love you too!"

\---

Erynn chuckled as she caught Valerian's questioning look. She ignored him and turned to Raynor instead. "Do you have any suggestion regarding Mira's reference to the negotiators?"   
"What about you?" He asked back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You talked Tychus out of his suit, so you should be fine with a few business people." She arched an eyebrow- no one had ever described her Psi like that.   
"I can come with you if you want." Findlay offered, she shrugged and smiled up at him.   
"Why not?"   
He grinned back. "Put on something pretty, sweetie. Sometimes less words are more."   
"That's what I wanted to do. Even as for other reasons," she replied and nodded to Raynor to leave, but he said slowly: "Matt didn’t really want to say much about you." It was a clear request and a side glance at Valerian was telling her that he would also like to have had a few more answers.   
"We used to be very close. But we all make mistakes," she finally said softly. "When he joined the Sons of Korhal, the contact broke down completely."   
"You were loyal to the Confederation?" Raynor asked skeptically.   
"Yes, even if politics never played a role. In that case, maybe it was just a nice excuse." She shrugged. A conversation about certain events and mistakes was inevitable if she had to work somehow with Matt.   
"That's what happens," Findlay commented.   
"Sad, but true," Raynor added, nodding musing, as Valerian looked at her thoughtfully.

\---

In fresh civilian clothes Matt left the Hyperion over a ramp. The dusty red haze, which represented the atmosphere of Deadman's Rock, pierced the eyes and throat, but was breathable. At the foot of the ramp, two jeeps were waiting, one as pink as Mira's hair, the other unobtrusively dark gray. Mira climbed out of the pink jeep and grinned at him over the bonnet.   
"Matthew! Get in!" He nodded to her. Behind him, four Marines were waiting to escort the two merchants for a sales talk through the Hyperion, who were reluctantly leaving their jeep. Swaying a resigned sigh, Matt slid into the passenger seat and seconds later they roared away.  
"Well, you look good," Mira said after a quick glance.   
"Thanks," he mumbled. "Where are we going?"   
"There is an old estate just outside the main city. It used to belong to a friend of James. Now it's mine." She chuckled and he didn’t wonder for the first time if it wasn’t _she_ who was in charge in Deadman's Port. While they were passing through the city, which was practically a single scrap heap, they did trivial small talk, but the hint of relaxation that came with it was already disappearing again as they reached the run-down mansion.   
"Wow..."   
"Believe me, the interior is better. At least part of it." She parked the jeep at the side of the villa, then they entered through the large double door.  
The overstated entrance hall was dirty in a used way, but before he could take a closer look, Mira almost shyly took his hand.   
"I had a little something to prepare." Without waiting for an answer, she pulled him with her and although he had thought- after Erynns scolding- actually to be nice, he was not ready to just let himself be dragged into a bedroom; he hadn’t expected that he would stumble into a cream and gold bathroom.   
"Oh.", He made surprised. Pink candles bathed the room in soft light, steam rose from the foam-filled bathtub. "Oh," he repeated stupidly as Mira snuggled in his arms.   
"You look like you need a bit of deep relaxation. And that's a wonderful start, no?" After a mildly disturbing encounter in his parents' bathroom, he hadn’t taken a bath again - the image twitched briefly over his inner eye and he hesitated.  
"That's ..."   
"With or without company?" She purred to him. His face said enough. "I can live with that."   
"E-excuse me, Mira, I didn’t mean-"   
"You don’t have to apologize, my dear." She took a step back and smiled crookedly. "I can’t expect for your heart to beat for me." That sounded a bit dramatic, but he forced a smile. "Hop in. And then tell me about the lady who was more successful than me." He looked at her a little confused, she rolled her eyes and turned around. At first hesitantly, then almost hurriedly, he undressed and sank into the warm water; the foam crackled around him, so he overheard Mira pulling up a stool and sitting down beside the tub. He didn’t notice her until she cheekily splashed some water on his face.   
"So?"   
"What?"   
"My question."   
"... there is no woman in my life," he answered slowly. The red-glowing eye shimmered scary in the candlelight.   
"Oh, but there are so many pretty women," she said teasingly, running her hand through her hair. He had to grin.   
"That's right. But the little spare time I have is somehow not enough. I don’t know where else I should take time for all the relationship stuff."   
"Who's talking about relationships?" She replied cheekily, snapping water into his face again. "Have you looked at Mr. V and his girl? It’s a safe bet that they go to bed with each other without holding hands and strolling in the moonlight." Matt couldn’t prevent his face from grimacing - he hadn’t even thought about that.  
"Oh, Matthew... you like her..." Mira's purr was different than usual. "Erynn is really pretty, isn’t she? How do you get along?" She leaned forward and Matt realized he was trapped.   
"Well, um, you know..." He had mentioned to Raynor only very briefly that they were old friends, but suddenly he had an urgent need to talk to someone. "Do you have time for an old story?", He wanted to know softly and looked at the bath foam. Mira cocked her head.   
"Of course. About how old are we talking here?"   
"As old as myself." A wry smile appeared on his face as she raised an eyebrow. And then he practically told her everything.

\---

After the merchants left, Valerian had been talking to Raynor about the financing for a while. A short distance away, Erynn and Hyperion's First Officer, a J. Hall, had discussed the distribution of goods. After Raynor had left, Valerian had more or less engaged in the conversation, because since Erynn took care of these things, he himself had practically no idea about it - and so he listened and tried to absorb everything worth knowing.   
"... I'm afraid we'll have to wait for the goods to actually arrive-" Hall broke off and Valerian followed her surprised look. Through the door to the bridge, Horner strolled in and for a moment the bridge was quiet, after all, he had only been gone for a few hours. "What I wanted to say..." Hall picked up the thread again, but stopped talking as Horner joined them at the big terminal. Valerian noticed how incredibly relaxed he looked when he looked over Halls shoulder and nodded in agreement.  
"You're back already," Erynn said after a scrutinizing look.   
"Yes. And?", Horner replied lightly. She shrugged her shoulders.   
"You aren’t Cinderella, you could have stayed away longer."   
He chuckled. "Not necessary."   
"Then the negotiations were successful?", Valerian wanted to know and Horner nodded curtly. For Valerian's taste, his gaze lingered a moment too long in the cleavage of Erynn's flaky white blouse before he said: "You got the stain removed."   
"No," she said, "I just bought it again."   
"So much about sustainability."   
She rolled her eyes. "What did you do?", She asked casually and typed on her datapad, as if she didn’t really care about the answer. Horner leaned against the terminal and folded his arms across his chest. When Erynn looked up, Valerian had the feeling that a bubble was forming around them, leaving the surroundings completely out of the picture.   
"I bathed, I unburdened myself to Mira, we ate and negotiated." Horner said then and you could see that he was waiting for a specific reaction from Erynn.  
"You bathed?" Anyone else - even Valerian- would have asked why he opened up to Mira, because he had loudly proclaimed to not like her before.   
"Yes. So what?"   
"So you overcame your bathtub trauma?" Erynn raised an eyebrow, the hint of a mocking smile on her lips. Hall suddenly seemed very uncomfortable, but stood too unfavorable to just steal away. Horner also grimaced.   
"I wouldn’t call it a trauma, but I could have lived without it."   
"I've heard that phrase from you before, chubby." Erynn's smile grew into a grin and Horner blushed. Not that Valerian was able to judge that, but the captain really didn’t look chubby.   
"Are there any other relics left in your closet besides the blouse?" Horner asked eagerly. "Your pink glitter toys, for example?" The tone clearly said he meant toys for the big girls and Erynn blushed into a dark red. Not sure if he found this little verbal exchange amusing or rather oblique, Valerian raised an eyebrow. Again, he felt like the fifth wheel on the car.   
"I've grown tired of the glitter.", The answer finally came a little stiff.   
"Hmm.", Horner made vague and casted a critical glance at Valerian. "Pink is obviously enough." The prince was fully aware of what Horner was referring to, and despite his indignation, he blushed. Before he could say anything, Erynn growled: "My dear Matt, you should watch what you say."   
"Why? It doesn’t matter if you add even a prince." There was bitter mockery in Horner's voice and Erynn's mouth almost guiltily pinched for a moment before she said: "Sometimes I hate you."   
"I know. Love you anyway."   
"Oh, fuck you!" For Valerian this sounded like a very lovingly routine.   
"Hall, when you and Erynn are done, please put me in." Horner said seamlessly.   
"Of course, sir." Hall murmured softly.   
"Does anybody know where Raynor went?" He asked, but the bridge crew remained dumbfounded.   
"Considering the time, I would say in the bar or in bed," Valerian said coolly, the sideswipe had put him in a huff. Horner nodded to him and started to leave the bridge. Before Valerian thought much about it, he joined him.

When they had gone a little way, Valerian asked: "How close were you?" He already thought Horner would ignore him, but then he answered: "For a very long time she was the most important person in my life." It surprised Valerian, because Erynn had said lately that they hadn’t been a couple.   
"Love or just sex?", Horner asked shortly back and this time it was Valerian who hesitated. "I understand."   
"Listen, Captain, whatever your relationship may have been like earlier, but that-"   
"That's not your business at all. And whatever wishes your adjutant fulfills to you- not my business." Horner hesitated. "We're all making our decisions," he added, and Valerian stopped, but Horner didn’t care and just kept going.

\---

Erynn's head was still crowded with data, facts and statistics as she entered Valerian's office. The prince had his feet on his desk, hands behind his head, and seemed to be dozing, but then he asked: "Who did you sleep with to annoy Horner?" She stopped in surprise and he opened his eyes.   
"Why are you interested in that?"   
"Your mocking remarks against each other go pretty much below the belt."   
"Yes, and? Ten-year-old stories are none of your business." She shook her head and lowered her eyes to her datapad to send him the latest lists- she had lost the wish for a long talk with him.   
"How long have you known each other?", He asked further and she sighed.   
"Since our birth."   
He frowned. "Isn’t such a sentence actually going after the birth of the younger?" She allowed herself a small smile.   
"If you are precise, Matt is younger than me." Valerian's mouth opened in surprise and he lifted his feet off the table.   
"He looks like he's at least five years older than you."   
"The time wasn’t nice to him, that's probably true. But in the end, two hours don’t matter for the age difference."   
“Wait... two _hours_?"   
She nodded. "Our mothers shared a room in the hospital when we were born. The Horners moved shortly thereafter to the neighboring house and we grew up together. There wasn’t one without the other."   
"Oh," Valerian said, studying her. "So you were best friends."   
She nodded again. "We shared everything."   
"Even the bed?"   
"I said there was never anything like that," she said, rolling her eyes. "But yes, as children, we slept in the same bed."  
For a moment, the memories awakened in her, as she lay crying in his arms and he caressed her hair, unable to comfort her because they were both too small with just eight years old to actually understand death. But did Valerian need to know about it? Apparently, he didn’t care too much, because he came up to her and put a hand to her cheek.   
"But now you are grown up. And beautiful." She raised an eyebrow questioningly as her heart began beating faster. "Will you come to bed with me? It's late." Such a wording was new. Before she could answer, he kissed her, letting his lips slide over her lower jaw and neck.   
"No."   
"It wasn’t a question. But a wish. And if I remember correctly, my wish is always your command..." he murmured, nibbling her earlobe. Her shudder was so intense that she had to grip to him.   
"No. Valerian, don't-" The nibbling became an almost painful biting, down her neck and back to her mouth. He had never been so rude, never hard so quickly, and although she had sworn never to read the thoughts of family or friends, she carefully reached out her psi for him.  
What she saw surprised her. It was not just envy of such a friendship or jealousy; in his mind she belonged to him. In addition, there was a certain aversion to Matt, which was strengthened by said friendship to her and something he had said to Valerian earlier. The prince wanted her, wanted to show himself and her that she was his, and her resistance only made it worse. For a moment, she thought it would be easier to just let him do, but then she pushed him both physically and psionically away. He made a surprised sound and looked at her wide-eyed. In that brief moment, he was more teen than man. Erynn licked blood from her lip.   
"You're terribly selfish and ignorant, Valerian. The people here-" she made a far-reaching gesture, "believe in you because you are different from your father. Or at least that's what everyone thinks."   
"I'm not like my father!" He protested promptly. She licked her bitten lip again.   
"At the moment I see it somehow different." And with that she left his office.

\---

Some of the comments that Mira had made to Matt's story didn’t let him sleep, so he got dressed again and went to the bar. His thoughts circled for the hundredth time as to why Erynn hadn’t made herself visible to him earlier. After all, Valerian hadn’t joined forces with the Raiders five minutes before Char. But the answer could only come from Erynn herself, who was surprisingly sitting in a corner of the bar, looking like a picture of misery. Matt leaned thoughtfully against the counter and Cooper looked at him questioningly. "What can I bring to you, Captain? The usual?"   
"No, not today. Twice some nonalcoholic drinks." Cooper arched an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything else; just a short while later he shoved a pair of large, colorful cocktail glasses into Matts direction. Not even a minute later Matt placed one of them in front of Erynn, who looked up irritated.   
"Matt."   
"Erynn." He sat down across from her and sipped his cocktail, slowly she did the same. As she leaned back to look at him, he noticed that her lower lip was swollen. "You don’t look like everything’s all right," he commented cautiously.   
"No," she agreed, rubbing her neck uncomfortably. When she took her hand away, he could see red spots there.   
"Is Valerian often so rude with you?" It was a shot in the dark, but the idea infuriated him.   
"No. Besides his little power games, he is very loving." They both knew he didn’t want to hear that, but she said it to reassure him. He nodded curtly and sipped again at the cocktail, she added softly: "He's jealous."   
"About what?"   
"Everything. He grew up quite different from us and there are so many little things every day that remind him that he isn’t like everyone else. I think the idea of having a best friend to share everything with is very... " She was looking for a suitable word.   
" _Painful_ , if you have a perfect example in front of your nose?" Matt tried to fill the gap.   
"Something like that."  
She took a long sip and he tried to read in her attitude. She was tense, somehow nervous, but Valerian's rough treatment didn’t seem to be the main problem. She looked rather as if she had wanted company to keep herself from collapsing, even though he had practically forced himself into her company. The old need to hug her and comfort her sprouted in him. Slowly he emptied his glass, then he asked in a low voice: "Do you still remember what you said when you first stumbled into my room crying in the middle of the night?" She looked up in surprise.   
"Honestly no. Why?" He glanced at the empty glass he turned between his fingers instead of looking at her.   
"You dropped your teddy and said: _My teddy doesn’t hug me back. Can you be my teddy?_ "   
"Oh god," she mumbled sheepishly. "Did I really say that?"   
"You did." Now Matt looked up and her face made him smile. She smiled back with infinite sadness.   
"That was almost twenty years ago."   
"Well. We both don’t have much in common with our eight-year-old selves."   
"But some things seem to repeat.", She murmured and their two smiles vanished. At that time her father had died after a short and hopeless fight against cancer and Matt had a bad feeling. The were some things they definitely should talk about- but not now. Hesitantly, he held out his hand.   
"Do you need a teddy?" She bit her lip, tears shimmering in her eyes and she nodded.

The door to Matt's cabin had barely closed as she whispered: "My mum has died." They stood in the middle of the room as Matt took her in his arms and gently pressed her head against his shoulder; she wrapped her arms around him as if she would otherwise fall over.   
"When?"   
"I received the message this morning."   
"Oh Erynn... I'm so sorry..." he mumbled into her hair. She sobbed and sniffled and he blinked away the tears as well. Erynn's mum had been a second mum to him and this news hit him hard. "What happened?" He wanted to know softly.   
"Some thrombosis ... I ... I didn’t read it that well..."   
"Shh, it’s okay… it’s okay." He just held her for a while, letting his memories wander and caressing her back and hair, while she was crying. Then he murmured softly, "You should sleep a bit." Her answer was a sniff, so he gently pushed her to his bedside, where she sat down and took off her shoes. He silently did the same and then she snuggled into his arms again, pressed her face against his chest and sniffled. Whatever she said then was completely incomprehensible by another crying, but that didn’t matter. Shaken by sobs, she clawed her fingers into his shirt and he held her tight as she fell asleep with exhaustion some time later.

\---

If they had moved in their sleep, when Matt awoke, they had landed back in the same position. He clearly felt her breasts pressed against his chest, and his hand was on her butt. For a moment he realized very clearly that they were no longer eight years old, but he pushed the thought away. The feelings he had had for her, he had left behind and if their friendship got a second chance, he would certainly not ruin it by thoughtless sex.   
"Matt?" She mumbled softly.   
"Yes?"   
"Thank you."   
"You don’t have to thank me. That’s what friends are for, right?" She laughed softly and sat up. He sat next to her and started to get up, but she held him back and kissed him on the cheek.   
"I'm sorry I cried on you so much," she said, pointing to his shirt.   
"Can be washed," he responded, removing it before getting up. He felt her musing look and was glad she didn’t say anything else; he was no longer the chubby from years ago, but he was also far from toned.  
"Damn, it's noon," she mumbled instead.   
"Was late yesterday," he said with a shrug and looked at her.   
"May I use your shower? If I go straight back to the Bucephalus, I will not be able to do."   
"Sure..." Almost immediately her blouse flew into a corner and before Matt really could realize, her bra flew as well. Only in the dark blue lace panty she finally marched into the bathroom and - to counteract the eventual thought of an invitation - closed the door behind her. _What would I have given for this sight a few years back...?_ Matt thought and shook his head as he picked up her things from the floor and laid them on the bed. But it didn’t hurt him anymore and that alone was a good feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, emotional part over =) Let's continue with the story.


	6. Tychus tells a tale

The penetrating beeping of the comm woke Tychus out of his nap. "Hmm?" He grumbled and accepted the conversation.   
"Are you still on the Hyperion?" Horner asked directly. Damn, he had forgotten the meeting called by Valerian.   
"Yes," he said honestly.   
"Good. Can you collect Stetmann? I fear he once again forgot the existence of his environment."   
"Alright." Without another word, Horner ended the conversation and Tychus sighed. He would never really warm up with the captain.

 ---

For three days they were sitting in Deadman's Port now and the mood was bad. As long as the Hyperion was not adequately repaired to defend herself, Jim and Valerian had imposed a curfew to prevent attention and recognition from crewmembers. Furthermore, no one knew what to do next, and the hopelessness that Jim emitted after the rescue campaign for his ex-girlfriend had failed seemed contagious. Even Tychus could not stand seeing his old friend like that, because Jim wasn’t even drinking, but usually sitting in front of an empty glass - and that worried Tychus, more than he wanted to admit. Well, and that even the normally unwavering Captain didn’t know what was going on, was not a good sign either.  
But said Captain was quite obviously with his mind completely elsewhere, because the last three evenings he had been seen with Erynn in the bar - and how they left together. However the two former best friends spent their time, Horner was much more relaxed and at least on the bridge the mood was not that depressing.

In contrast, Valerian walked around with a very pinched expression and didn’t seem to find it funny that his adjutant looked at other men apart her boss - in any way, because although Tychus had a great respect for her psi and in general never would have started anything with a psionic woman, it was nice to talk to her and start a flirt or two. A sweet little thing, yes, but he could do without the expected trouble, so it stuck to his thoughts.  
Instead, he had used his own free time to make himself useful. He was tall and strong and could certainly help Swann's engineers and mechanics with the simpler things. Swann himself looked as if he might need a hibernation, but who could blame him for that after the last few days, oh, weeks? He was even grumpier than usual, but settled down with coffee and muffins.  
And Stetmann? While Tychus was on his way to him, he realized that he saw the young scientist at most once a day at any meal time, if anyone thought of him and dragged him into the canteen. Why Jim had called him into the Hyperion Council was a mystery to Tychus, Miss Morales seemed better suited to him, but well- Jimmy was the boss.

 ---

Tychus entered the lab. Without the presence of the shimmering artifact, it seemed darker and empty, but before he could think about it, Stetmann squeaked in alarm. "Ty-Tychus! My goodness!"   
"What, boy? Did I scare you?" Tychus grinned at him.   
"Oh, well ... a little bit." Stetmann adjusted his laboratory goggles and cleared his throat nervously. "What's up?"   
"Crisis meeting on the Bucephalus." Tychus answered and crossed his arms over his chest, Stetmann looked as if he wanted to step back. "Did you forget?"   
"Oh ... um ..." Stetmann ran his fingers through his hair, which urgently needed a cut.   
"Obviously.", Tychus remarked and nodded to the door. "Come on, kiddo. Jim and the others are waiting."   
"Yes. Of course." Stetmann hastily put his glasses and lab coat aside, washed his hands, and looked back into the lab, as if it was the last look for a very long time.  
  
"What are you working on?" Tychus asked as they walked side by side.   
"I'm researching the Zerg. Try to understand their evolution. Their way of adjusting."   
"Sounds complicated, considering what those ugly critters are." Tychus growled.   
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say. Perhaps the Queen of Blades finds her Zerg beautiful." Stetmann shrugged as Tychus gave him a crooked sideways glance. "What ... what did you do the last days?" Stetmann asked in an attempt not to let the small talk fall asleep.   
"Helped Swann and his people. You don’t need a diploma for screwing."   
"Oh, good. He is happy as soon as we can fly again. He's suffering with the Hyperion, you know."   
"I noticed. But ... is that still healthy?"   
"What? Worrying about the ship?", Stetmann asked back and answered immediately: "Well, it's our home. Our workplace. Actually, everything we have." He shrugged. "But I don’t think that's a case of object sexuality."   
"Please, what?" Tychus frowned irritably.   
"I-I mean ... there are people who love an inanimate object just like others love a human being. You may even marry them and-"   
"Okay, thanks, stop. I don’t want to know any more than that, gives me just unwanted images in my mind.", Tychus interrupted Stetmann's explanation and shook his head.

 ---

The conference room Prince Valerian had chosen for their meeting was pleasantly simple. Sure, the oval table in the middle was bulky and far too big for the seven people they were, but there was no distraction except for a small sideboard for drinks.   
"I think we all had enough time to think about the current situation." Valerian began after Tychus and Stetmann got seated as last. Swann promptly snorted.   
"Unless you're drowned in work, maybe."   
"We wouldn’t have gotten here without you," Jim said, patting the chief engineer on the shoulder with a wry smile. "You deserve a statue like Matt."   
"I'd rather have a holiday," Swann muttered, and Tychus grinned:   
"As you can see, statues seem to be out, Jimmy."   
"Keep that in mind," Erynn said teasingly to Valerian, who sighed. He had probably prepared some great speech and couldn't use it now.  
"Let's just make it short," Tychus said, leaning back in his comfortable chair as far back as possible. "Does anyone have any idea what to do next?" Embarrassed silence was the answer. Finally, Jim sighed heavily.   
"I'd like to see what Char looks like."   
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Valerian said doubtfully.   
"No, it's not.", Swann growled and Stetmann added: "We don’t know if the Queen of Blades still exists and if so, in what form. If not: who leads the Zerg? Is there any leadership at all?"   
"Really Commander, Jim, we understand how important that was and is to you, but we should avoid any Zerg planet," Horner added seamlessly. Jim nodded slowly and sadly; Tychus hoped that he wouldn’t break.  
"I would like to organize a new battlecruiser for the Heracles crew. So many good people condemned to sit around ... we could use them better with a third ship." Valerian said after a moment.   
"And where should we get that?" Horner asked skeptically.   
"At least without us shooting it down first and then laboriously rebuild it." Swann grumbled annoyed.   
"Hmm ... stealing?" Tychus suggested, knowing that Jim had stolen the Hyperion as well.   
"For this we would first have to get close enough to one.", Horner said, shaking his head and silence came again. Tychus glanced around and saw only long faces. There sat a prince, heir to an empire so big that one could hardly imagine it, with his confidants and sang the blues.

"Does anyone of you know the fairy tale of the prince who asks a shaman for help?" He asked into the silence. Irritated looks were the answer. "No? Well ...” He put his feet on the table and fished a cigar out of his pocket. "Then Ol’Uncle Tychus will tell you..." He cleared his throat and noticed with amusement that Valerian looked like he was placed in the wrong scene.  
"Once upon a time there was a king, he was always a bit of a megalomaniac. Always the biggest and best and most expensive and so on. On top of that, when his heir and only son came of age, he went crazy and declared war on all sorts of people. The prince turned against him and was put out." Tychus paused. "Does anyone have a lighter or not?" Without a word, Jim handed him a lighter and he took a draw before continuing.  
"The prince gathered an army, went against his father and lost everything but six loyal companions. One of them was a scholar and told him about a shaman who would help all the virtuous supplicants." Among the critical glances that Valerian got, he blushed.  
"And since the prince had no other option, they traveled to the shaman who lived in a toad's marsh." Erynn grimaced at the word _toad_ and Tychus grinned around his cigar. "However...", he blew out a flood of smoke slowly, "the shaman explained that it wouldn’t be his decision who he helps and who he doesn’t. Special decision of the spirits."   
Horner sighed annoyed. "Tosh would enjoy it."   
"Just stop it with the silly ass.", Jim growled.  
"Anyway...", Tychus continued unperturbed, "The seven got a potion and were sent to sleep like naughty children."   
"Let me guess: Grandma Findlays favorite reading story for little Tychus?" Erynn smirked and Tychus grinned back.   
"Can you read minds?" She hinted that if she had sat closer, she would have given him a pat and grinned broadly.  
"Anyway ... the next morning the shaman said the spirits would have considered them all worthy and they would now perform a ritual to tie their respective totem animal to themselves." Tychus took a deep draw and blew out the smoke slowly. "The prince and his companions became stronger, faster, smarter ... but the shaman warned them not to be distracted by the sins because it wouldn’t suit them well. It was just that nobody listened."   
"For sure.", Valerian remarked dryly. "The most forbidden fruits are just the sweetest."   
"What kind of totem animals were they?" Stetmann asked curiously, but Tychus shrugged.   
"The last time I heard the story was a good thirty years ago, Kiddo."   
"Oh, what a pity..."  
"Where was I? Yes, however ... one could read minds and tried very well on rip-offs and sleight of hand, another was fast and strong and first took revenge for his family killed by the king. Everyone wanted to try their new skills, prove themselves and maybe finally have fun again. The group spread and the prince was the worst."   
"Now it comes out," Horner muttered, and Valerian glared frowning across the table. Tychus smiled - he would rather call Horner his best friend than that these two got along.  
"The prince had become a Prince Charming, and whoever he smiled at landed either in his bed or in his army, with which he marched robbing and marauding across the country. One day, though, he met a girl who didn’t immediately fall into his arms, sighing, and brought him to her mother. She turned out to be the supposedly dead queen who had been banished by the angry king after the birth of an inferior daughter, and the prince was healed of his sinfulness."   
"Sure, mom has to fix it.” Jim remarked sarcastically.  
"The prince regathered his companions, beaned them, and recaptured his kingdom. Neither he, nor his companions, ever relapsed again."   
"Something you would wish even for some other criminals." Horner pointed and raised an eyebrow, but Tychus looked over it, instead Swann asked: "And the moral of the story?"   
"Power alone doesn’t need to be feared. Only those who command them," Valerian said slowly, before Tychus could even think about an answer.  
"Why did you tell the story, Tych?" Jim asked curiously.   
"It seemed somehow fitting, you know. A prince and his companions? Not that I seriously regard me as a companion to a posh hatchling, but overall..." Tychus shrugged and sucked on the cigar. "It’s an old story of my grandma, who basically just taught me that I don’t want to be a prince.” He grinned at Valerian, who stood up and asked,   
"Does anyone need a drink as well?" Nodding, Jim and Swann got up and joined Valerian at the drinks sideboard. Horner looked morosely into the void, Erynn seemed very thoughtful and with Stetmann he was not sure if he was mentally not back in his lab long ago.  
"I got word earlier that General Warfield survived Char. He is waiting for a traitor process," Valerian said slowly. Tychus half turned to him. The prince, like Jim and Swann, held a glass of amber liquid in his hand.   
"After all, it saves him from an ugly death by the Zerg." Jim murmured and took a sip. "Good man." And then the oppressed silence started again.


	7. Project Bloodmoon - the first call

_What would be my totem animal?_ , Erynn thought, reviewing Tychus' story. It was a classic fairy tale with plenty of obvious morality and good ending, but in fact a certain similarity. She glanced at her prince. He was also charming without any magic, no doubt about it, but just as he stood leaning against the sideboard with his head hanging and stared into his glass, she felt the need to comfort him. He'd apologized profusely to her, but he could not hide his displeasure at renewing her friendship with Matt. Now he raised his eyes and forced a half smile, which she also returned a little tormented.  
"Would be exciting if there really was such totem animal magic," she then said into the silence.  
"If there was, the rich and powerful would have seized that kind of power long ago," Raynor promptly said with a certain bitterness.  
"Or someone could have found a way to abuse it, like the Ghosts." Valerian added no less pessimistically.  
"Either way ... it wouldn’t help us if it wasn't exclusive to us." Swann said, punching in the same notch. "You always need better toys than your opponent."  
Erynn sighed deeply. "Let me have my illusions."  
"You should know better," Valerian told her, and she rolled her eyes.  
"Well, and apart from that, it's simply impossible.", Matt remarked matter-of-factly.  
"I know..."  
At that moment, Stetmann piped up: "You would have to be a Zerg."  
"What?" Raynor asked, almost stunned.  
"We-well I mean ... for superiority!" Stetmann got wide-eyed with shock. "I didn’t mean to imply that we ... so ... sir ..." He cleared his throat and kneaded his fingertips. "What I meant to say, sir, is that Swann is right in kind of a sense. We have to be better than them, superior. But since our funds are limited, this is technically difficult. The Zerg have it easier."  
"Means what?" Tychus asked rumbling.  
"Oh, well ... they just adapt to the circumstances like their environment. True to the motto _Adapt or Die_ , as evolution envisages. Either the swarm or swarm part adapts or goes down. We humans have taken the factor of natural selection out of the equation only through our medical advances."  
"That may be true, but human evolution isn’t something one can observe sitting in a deck chair. The Zerg are evolving faster than we humans ever get a child," Raynor interjected.  
"Right. That's the fascinating thing about the Zerg. An individual adapts and everyone else has the opportunity to do the same, without having to stand the same conditions or having to wait for a new generation. And if a broodmother is not part of the swarm, its swarm part will develop independently and might even be superior." Stetmann was full in his element, his eyes lit up. "When you transfer the whole thing, we are an independent part of the swarm, independent of other humans. And now we have to evolve to be superior. The question is just _how_."  
"I think we've already been to that point, Stetmann, but thanks for the illustration." Valerian said politely, but with a sad undertone. Matt shook his head.  
"Stetmann wouldn’t be Stetmann if he didn’t have already a suggestion. My only question is if we like it."  
"Probably not." Swann murmured, but Raynor nodded to the young scientist. "Tell me. You've had some really brilliant ideas lately."  
Stetmann smiled. "Thanks sir. I actually thought of something, but I don’t know if this project still exists." Erynn frowned doubtfully. Stetmann's fascination with Zerg was almost a bit disturbing in its full extent. "The project has been working to improve people physically, I mean. Stronger, faster, better reflexes, better self-healing...” Stetmann paused and looked around. Erynn saw skeptical faces - except for Matt, whose attitude was dismissive. She was also curious, but Stetmann hadn’t said much yet.  
"It was formerly called _Captain Universe_ , but then it was renamed in _Bloodmoon_ because they had to put in some ... um ... aspect to really make progress."  
" _Bloodmoon_? That sounds like vampires and werewolves." Tychus grunted and Stetmann smiled sheepishly.  
"Um ... yes ... werewolves ... Valerian's wolf symbol reminded me of that."  
"Could you please get to the point? I don’t like what I'm hearing right now," Matt said with a critical frown.  
"Yeah, well ... the thing is ... I don’t know the exact progress. All I know is that they managed to actually create werewolves."  
  
For a moment it was terribly quiet, Stetmann looked nervously from one to the other, and Erynn was not sure she had heard right.  
" _Werewolves_?" It was Raynor who asked that question and the word dripped with skepticism.  
"Y-yes, sir." Stetmann nodded and ducked his head.  
"Before anyone here envisions horror scenarios," Valerian interjected, "I want to say that these werewolves have nothing to do with the old fairy tales."  
"Do you know the project?" Stetmann asked in surprise, and Erynn arched a brow.  
"Yes." Valerian nodded and set aside his now empty glass. "After the first results, which were not nearly as desired, the funds were cut drastically. I read the reports and communicated with the project manager." He paused for a moment, then gently shook his head. "I don’t know the current state, but back then there were only controlled transformations into a wolf-like shape, which, apart from a certain robustness of the human body, didn’t include much change."  
"But a certain robustness is already a step forward, isn’t it? And it looks like we need every advance we can get," Erynn said. Somewhere deep inside her, the old passion for fairy tales and dark fantasy that she had buried after the first video reports on the Zerg began to stir again- such monsters were a bit too much.  
"But do you seriously want to turn yourself into a wolf for a reduced bone fracture risk?" Matt wanted to know; he knew her too well and looked at her almost pleadingly.  
"I agree with the captain. Is it worth it? What are the risks?" Swann looked critical as well.  
"Prince Valerian is right, we don’t know the current state of research," Stetmann suggested. "But he could certainly get the latest reports, right?"  
"I don’t know," Valerian admitted. "I have no idea how far my father has pushed me out of the system already."  
"Then try your luck, Junior." Raynor nodded to him. "I keep my opinion until I know more."  
"Fine, not me.", Tychus added his two cents. "Apart from the fact that we have absolutely no other idea ... I like it." He grinned crookedly and conspiratorially nodded at Stetmann, who was somewhere between scientific enthusiasm and social nervousness. Now the eyes were on Valerian.  
"I'll see if I can contact Dr. Maastricht. If so, I would of course ask for the latest reports, but should we stop by the station as well?"  
"Where's that?" Matt asked immediately.  
"Some little uninhabited planet in the edge systems," Valerian replied with a shrug.  
"Then we could schedule a visit." Raynor nodded, and suddenly Erynn felt that just this idea, this absurdly crazy possibility, was already lifting the mood, simply because they suddenly had another goal. It was amazing, but that's how people were.

\---

"Captain Horner?" Matt looked up as Valerian spoke to him.  
"What's up?" The prince stepped to the other side of the star map.  
"We need a stable encrypted connection that will allow me to reach the research station. I've asked some technicians to check it again, but I'm afraid the station's security arrangements allow only planetary communication." Matt nodded. "Can you ask Miss Han if she would help us again?" Valerian added.  
"Questions don’t cost anything," Matt replied, looking at the prince. "But Mira will not help us forever, and certainly not for nothing."  
"Mercenaries would rather prefer the financial arrangements, huh?" Valerian sneered and Matt raised an eyebrow.  
"If you want, you can go to bed with her. She probably doesn’t mind. But I guess if it’s the case, she tells you afterwards that she doesn’t have such options." He shrugged and turned to the comm to call Mira.  
He didn’t like this completely crazy idea that Stetmann had thrown into the room. Erynn had made him understand that she found the whole thing very interesting, but he didn’t take pleasure in it. He had nothing against technical gimmicks, help of Ghosts might be acceptable, but modifying one's body was out of the question. He already found the mechanical or cybernetic replacements uncanny, even though they were now quite normal. But since most of the others had expressed their curiosity, he had no choice but to move along.

"Matthew and Mr. V- what a surprise!" Mira greeted cheerfully. "I wanted to call you later and ask how long you want to stay."  
"Not for long. Swann is actually happy with the progress." Matt said, relieved even beyond that point.  
"Fine, nice."  
"Miss Han...," Valerian said, putting on a charming smile that made Matt a little sick, "we'd have to ask you for help again."  
"Oh, and what's up?" Mira was all ears.  
"We need to contact a research station, but we need a planetary communications link."  
"Stable and extra secure, I suppose?"  
"Yes."  
Mira smiled at Matt. "I have, sweethearts. You just have to come here."  
"Into your villa?" Matt wanted to know.  
"No, of course not. I have a small technical base, well hidden. But you have to come here."  
"I see." Valerian nodded.  
"I'll send you the coordinates, Matthew. Some of my people will be waiting for you here to explain things to you. Call me again before you leave." She winked at Matt and closed the comm.  
"I assume you'll want to go yourself?" He asked rhetorically to Valerian.  
"Indeed. Although I had only written contact to Dr. Maastricht, but he should know my face."  
"I doubt that. At least if you want to get through the city alive." Matt responded, giving the prince a critical look.  
"What do you mean?"  
"We cannot just get in an armored car and get chauffeured. We have to walk. And you damn well look too much of a prince to go a hundred yards."  
Valerian wrinkled his nose. "Oh, but you're less inconspicuous?"  
"At least I know how to dress in Deadman's Port."  
"Don’t argue, guys." Erynn shouted as she entered the bridge. She stepped next to her boss and nodded to Matt. "Mira has a connection for us? Good." She looked up at Valerian. "Matt's right, you're too eye-catching. We get other clothes, make ourselves a bit pretty and then we go."  
" _We_?" Matt asked irritated.  
"Who said you were coming?" Valerian asked as well.  
"Excuse me, but you cannot run around with an escort of marines. And I'm not going to leave you two alone, that for sure." She put her hands on her hips and made a pout that Matt knew just too well as she looked from one to the other.  
"I know you can take care of yourself, but what about him?" Valerian nodded into Matt's direction. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath, then blew it out unused. Matt patted the holster on his belt.  
"I may not be a marksman, but I can handle that anyway."  
"Good." Valerian nodded.  
"I'll get you something nice to wear," Erynn told him, then grabbed Matt's arm to pull him away.

"Listen," she finally said as he had changed and they were on their way to Valerian's room with a bundle of dirty clothes. "I know you don't like Valerian and it's mutual, but you don’t have to protect me from him."  
"As if I ever could protect you from anything or anyone," he murmured, grimacing.  
"Matt, hey, don’t say that!" She held him by the arm and stopped; he looked at her, shaking his head.  
"You know I'm right," he said with a touch of bitterness and pushed her hand gently aside. "I'm just a comforting teddy, but not a protector. _You_ took care of _me_ at school."  
She sighed deeply. "That was ten years and more ago. And if I look at you now, you're certainly not the boy you were back then." Something in her eyes unsettled him, though her words were supposed to do the opposite.  
"Of course not," he said belatedly. "How should I?"  
A loving smile crept on her face. "I never thought you would become second-in-command for a rebel force. Or Captain of a battlecruiser."  
"Believe me, as a Prince's adjutant, I couldn’t have imagined you either." He smiled half-heartedly back.  
"Come on, said prince needs a lesson in civilian appearance." They sat back in motion and Matt's mind wandered into the past. No, he had never been able to protect her from anything, she probably never wanted it, so he comforted her afterward, even if he just could have said _I told you_. She had been the one who had stood between him and the others when they annoyed him - either because of his physique or because of his shyness or whatever.  
"Matt?" Her voice pulled him back to reality.  
"Hmm?"  
"Can you at least try to make friends with Valerian on occasion?"  
He raised an eyebrow. "Friendship is a bit much of asking if he envy ours, don’t you think?"  
She sighed. "Or at least make peace or something? Truce? We stand on the same side and disagreement doesn’t help us at all."  
"I know. I'll try, okay?"  
"Thanks."

\---

Feeling a little disgusted, Valerian glanced at the dirty, old-smelling bundle Erynn had just handed him.  
"See you soon." With a similar pile in hand, she disappeared into her office. Horner had already changed, and even given the lack of dirt on his face and hands, he looked like an average Raider. He grinned a little mischievously at Valerian and the prince gave him a frosty look before he went into his bedroom and slipped into the borrowed things with some unwillingness. When he stepped back into his office, Erynn called the two of them to her bathroom.  
She looked pretty much like a simple mechanic and had already smeared something on her face, which looked like dirty oil.  
"Come on, Matt." She directed him into the light, then applied artfully whatever at his face before she smeared something into his hair to make it look greasy. "Here.", She said then and pressed something black into his hand. "Try to put some dirt marks under your nails." With a sigh, Horner made space for Valerian, who now also gave himself to a beauty treatment of a different kind. He usually enjoyed that sort of thing, but now it was more of an ordeal and when he looked in the mirror, he couldn't suppress a horrified squeak.  
"Will I ever get that out again?" He touched his hair cautiously, which looked like he hadn’t washed it for weeks.  
"Of course. After two washes at the latest, your mane will be as silky-shiny as before.” Erynn purred amused and began to dissolve her strict bun. Grinning, Horner handed him the black soft something and Valerian dug in the nails.  
"What's that?"  
"An active charcoal face mask in raw form."  
"Do you need to seriously discuss beauty tips now?" Horner asked in between.  
"It was just a question." Valerian replied angrily. Erynn sighed and turned her hair into a greasy plaited braid.  
"Pretty. Or not, just as you want." She grinned crookedly. "Let's go?"

\---

What Valerian saw from Deadman's Port touched him in an uncomfortable yet special way. He knew the pictures of notorious slums of various planets, but this one outdid the pictures. Not just because sounds and smells now completed the impression, but because the city was actually a living junkyard full of refugees, outcasts, criminals, and anything that didn’t fit into society or fell through the social network. Yes, he had fled through the sector with his mother, but that seemed like a nice walk to him when compared to the life of an adolescent here. Horner had warned them to appear confident but not overbearing, to ignore the begging children and to go fast but not hastily. As they were evidently entering another neighborhood, it became quieter and more ornate in a way Valerian could not put into words.  
Nevertheless, he broke the silence.  
"Captain?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I have to apologize to you. You were right."  
"I don’t think there’s an apology needed." Horner responded, looking critically at Valerian before running his fingers through his hair, obviously suppressing a sigh. "Let's leave it with _Matt_ , okay?" Valerian was a little surprised, but nodded.  
"Okay."  
Erynn grinned and slipped an arm around Matt's hips.  
"Was it so difficult?" Valerian could have guessed that she was the driving force behind it.  
"You know, though, that a certain familiarity leaves much more room for disputes and insults?"  Matt muttered, returning the gesture; Valerian tried to ignore it.  
"Of course, I know that, chubby.", Quipped Erynn.  
"Stop it!" Matt protested.  
"But why? It worked wonderfully for years. Never change a running system."  
"I’m not a chubby anymore!"  
"So what?" The two of them bickered for a while and Valerian's heart was heavy. He had always wanted a best friend, a trusted friend, but his life so far had not allowed it. Although Erynn was a kind of confidant, the employee relationship and their sexual liaison made things a bit complicated. He had hurt her, mentally and physically, by emitting his feelings to her, damaging her trust in him, but to his great relief she didn’t seem to take it too seriously. Instead, he had the impression that it had changed her behavior toward him in ways he still could not grasp.  
"... who did the class clown here for years?" Matt asked annoyingly in this moment and Erynn rumbled.  
"Do you know how hard it is to play this role every day? Every day everyone expects the classes to be made more bearable with my jokes and comments, that I deal with the teachers and make a fool of myself, no matter how I feel." Valerian raised an eyebrow in surprise; that was a side he didn’t even know about Erynn.  
"Nobody forced you to do so." Matt retorted, frowning.  
"No, but that's unimportant now." Erynn shook her head.  
"It’s not." Matt contradicted. Erynn gave Valerian a brief apologetic look before she said: "You tried to be a gray mouse so as not to attract attention. I tried the opposite. My behavior has given me some immunity among the students and I've used it to take care of you, just in case you missed that point." In Valerian's eyes Matt was as hard to imagine as a gray mouse as Erynn was as a class clown, but theirs school time was already a few years back and time is known to change people.  
"No, I didn’t miss that." Matt said a little stiffly. "And I know you skipped your training weeks because of me." She nodded slowly.  
"Kenny told me what happened the first time I was away." Matt opened his mouth, then closed it again and looked straight ahead, his lips pressed tight.  
"And then ask again why I have you as an adjutant.", Valerian remarked softly. Both Erynn and Matt smiled tightly, then Matt said: "We're there."  
"Yeah?" Valerian studied the surroundings but saw nothing out of the ordinary.  
"The house with the pink graffiti."  
"Oh." The graffiti was the color of Mira Han’s hair, but the building looked like it could collapse at any moment. The entrance was half covered with a scrap heap and when they had forced their way through, Valerian heard the click of a safety lock.  
"Code?", It asked from the shadows. Matt replied with a mix on numbers and letters. "Okay. Come in." Valerian blinked as a door opened and warm light revealed three dusty masked figures. One of them nodded to them and they entered a small cozy lounge in which two more men sat.  
"Who wants to make the call?"  
"Me," Valerian replied, straightening his shoulders.  
"Then come with me." He followed one of the men through a short corridor into a control room where was just enough space for two - the rest was stuffed with technology. The man took a small code generator from a drawer and held it out to Valerian.  
"The code has to be entered there, here and there. Then push on the green button and select the one you want to call. If there is no connection after two minutes, you have to wait five minutes and then try again with a new code. You have five and a half minutes to talk."  
"Okay." The man nodded and disappeared.

\---

Matt and Erynn sat down on a couch and waited in an awkward silence for Valerian, but the conversation they had begun didn’t leave Matts mind, although it was certainly not the right time or place for that.  
"You didn’t have to do all that," he said softly to Erynn. "Certainly not for my sake."  
"Why not?" She asked simply.  
"For a person you really love, you can make such sacrifices, but not for a friend," he said muffled. She took his hand and squeezed it briefly, but firmly.  
"First, you are not just a friend, but my best friend; and secondly, I love you. You are the family I have chosen and all that is left of it." That was the truth in several ways and although he was aware of it, it hurt to hear it. He let her words sink in for a moment, but before he had thought of an answer, Valerian reappeared. He was actually glad to see him.  
"I didn’t speak to him personally, but there it's just in the middle of the night. In eight to ten hours, we can expect a recall," said Valerian.  
"Here?" Erynn asked, standing up.  
"No. On the ship."  
"Good." Matt nodded and got up too. "Then we can leave." He turned to Mira’s men. "Thank you. Greet Mira from us." They just nodded and opened the door.

Silently, they walked back the way and Matt was glad that he could concentrate on the environment and not on his thoughts. When they had made more than half, Erynn laid a hand on Valerians back and leaned towards him. She mumbled something and Valerian pulled her closer with a smile. At the same moment, Matt felt a nauseating tickle in his head and then Erynn whispered in his mind: " _Trouble at 11 o'clock_." She had never done that before, but the trouble that would follow was the greater concern.  
In fact, only seconds later, five ripped-off, but surprisingly well-armed men appeared in front of them.  
"We've seen you before," one of them said with dangerous serenity.  
"We've done business," Matt said calmly, indicating a shrug.  
"That's fine," said another. "We have a business to propose to you too."  
"Oh yes?"  
The man nodded to Valerian. "Our boss is interested in your sister."  
"My sister is not for sale." Valerian replied coolly, and Erynn snuggled into his arms in search of shelter.  
"You’re sure?" In unison, the five raised their weapons and Matts blood ran cold. They were standing in the middle of a coverless street, outnumbered, and he wasn’t an outstanding shooter. As it was the case a week ago, the feeling that getting old and wrinkled wasn’t an option anymore crept over him - only at least three times as intensively.  
Valerian glanced at Erynn and shook his head slowly.  
"I’m sure." Matt grabbed his pistol and threw himself to one side, hearing shots, but couldn’t have said how many. On the brink he noticed that two of the men were dropping their weapons, then he had his own in hand and shot back. Seconds later, Valerian and Erynn had overcome the short distance to the attackers and went into close combat; Matt saw blades flashing and suddenly felt a sharp pain on his left upper arm. With an unrestrained gasp he put the pistol away and grabbed his arm - it was hurting like hell and he felt the warm blood soaking his sleeve; he didn’t even want to look but their attackers were now laying on the ground.  
"Did you really have to kill them?" Valerian asked uneasily and Erynn grimaced.  
"Better them than me."  
"Can we get out of here, please?" Matt asked in between.  
"Sure, we- Matt!" Erynn rushed towards him and reached out for his arm, then paused. "How bad?" She asked and he shrugged.  
"Hurts, bleeds..."  
"Let's go." Valerian said and then they hurried on. The people in the street were smart enough to say nothing and look away, but Matt had other worries. He could feel under his fingers that it was a shot right through, and his shirt was now wet with blood and sweat.  
"Erynn..." She immediately turned to him. "Call the Raiders..."  
"I ... okay..." She was as white as chalk. Valerian looked at him critically.  
"You're losing a lot of blood."  
"Probably hit the artery." Matt murmured, squinting bright spots in front of his eyes. He stumbled and Valerian caught him.  
"Come on, it's not far anymore."  
"I know," he responded and fainted.


	8. Meeting the werewolves

Although Matt's blood loss didn’t necessarily require a transfusion, both Erynn and Raynor insisted. Only when this was running and a slightly intimidated nurse had given him something so that he slept in addition to the unconsciousness for a while, she allowed herself to go back to the Bucephalus and take a shower.

As she wrapped herself in a towel and left the bathroom to get dressed, Valerian entered her bedroom. Surprised, she registered his appearance, for instead of his beloved uniform with waving cape and imposing sword, he wore black jeans and a dark red shirt. Since his hair was damp, he had apparently allowed himself the luxury of switching his sonic shower to water.   
"Looks good," she finally said as he looked at her silently, but obviously waiting.   
"Thanks," he said simply.   
"May I ask where the change of heart comes from?", She wanted to know curiously. Somehow he seemed lost, which was reinforced by half a shrug.   
"I just don’t feel very princely or heroic. And our visit to Deadman's Port showed me how distanced the rich and powerful are in comparison. If I ever become Emperor after the quarrel with my father, I want to be closer to the people of the Dominion than he is. Because right now I'm just one of them." If that thought was more than just a flash in the pan, Erynn was impressed. Since she didn’t know what to say, she nodded with a smile.  
Slowly he went over to her and took her in his arms, reluctantly she hugged him back.   
"I really wanted to get dressed," she said softly.   
"You need to?” He murmured and slipped a hand under her towel as he turned his head and his mouth sought hers. She got goose bumps and weak knees, but she gently pushed him away. "I've apologized," he muttered in awe.   
"Oh, it's not that," she replied softly.   
"But?" She looked at him for a moment.   
"How long is this going to continue, huh?"   
"What do you mean?" He asked back.   
"This here."   
He licked his lips, then bit it a moment later, before confessing, "I like it."   
"I'm aware of that." A smile crept onto her face and she took a tiny step back. "Still, if you want to change things, you're right to start with yourself. Only then you should think this over too."   
"I know."  
He sighed and put his hands in his trouser pockets, where he visibly clenched them into fists.   
"I saw you interact and ..." He searched for words and chewed his lower lip again while Erynn wondered what he was getting at. "I would like to have such a friend."   
"If you give yourself a bit of trouble and give up your princely behavior, Matt certainly wouldn’t have a problem with making friends with you."   
"No. Uhm... yes, maybe ... but I meant more _you_. We've known each other for two years and I trust you and-"   
"Valerian."   
"Hmm?"   
"I'm your adjutant."   
"But not every time of day and night."   
"That sounded quite different in my job interview." He sighed in frustration. "It's not that I wouldn’t want that," she said softly, annoyed that she was still standing in the towel, "But the kind of relationship we have right now is not necessarily made for friendship." He grimaced. "Valerian ... don’t turn your life upside down in two seconds." She saw that he had not even processed, maybe even understood, what had actually happened in recent times and still wanted to dash forward. A little tormented, he nodded and then made an indefinite gesture.   
"I'll leave you alone then. See you later..." She nodded to him and he left her bedroom. She looked after him for a moment. He had to grow up too fast and that caught up with him now.

\---

Matt felt like chewed and spat out. He sat on the bridge in his captain's chair and half listened to the story that Tychus and Raynor played while Erynn enjoyed listening. His left arm hurt and would do it for a while; his right arm hurt because of the cannula - he hated those things. To top it off, he also got a headache. Suddenly, Captain Vaughn's face popped up on the Comm's screen.   
"Hyperion ... Erynn, we have an extremely encrypted call here, presumably from the research station. Where is Valerian?"   
"Good question," Erynn said, pulling out her datapad and calling him.   
"What's up?" Valerian asked almost immediately.   
"Where are you? Dr. Maastricht is calling."   
"Oh, damn it! Hold him, I'll be right there!"   
"Vaughn, put him through."   
"Immediately."  
Two seconds later, Erynn stood proudly and upright in front of the screen, where now a gaunt older man appeared whose eyes glowed awe-inspiring yellow and Matt felt uncomfortable.   
"Good afternoon," Erynn said politely, bowing her head in greeting. "I assume you are Dr. Maastricht?"   
"Indeed." He nodded back. "I've been told that Prince Valerian would like to speak to me personally." At that moment, the door opened and Valerian literally plunged in, actually looking as if he had run.   
"With whom do I have the pleasure in the moment?" Maastricht gave a polite half-smile. Matt wondered for a heartbeat whether Valerian was still stuck in the things he'd worn for the trip to the city, but corrected himself. The prince slipped frantically into his uniform jacket, which he had carried under his arm and lacked the heavy epaulets and cape, while Erynn replied:   
"I am Prince Valerian's personal adjutant." Said Prince closed the buttons.   
"Lieutenant-General Erynn Josephine Horner." Matt gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.   
"Very pleased to meet you," said Maastricht, and then Valerian said velvety, as always:   
"I hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long, Dr. Maastricht."   
"Oh, no, not at all." Matt blinked and noticed unpleasantly that all but the talking ones were staring at him. Since neither Valerian nor any of his people had said anything to him, Matt had assumed that Erynn had taken back her maiden name - apparently not.  
Part of the conversation, which now consisted of many polite phrases, just rushed past him while his headaches got worse.   
"... of course we can send you the latest reports. Every researcher's heart beats faster when colleagues are interested in their project." Maastricht then said audibly pleased.   
"May I also ask you for a layman's version? As much as I'm intrigued by these things, I don’t have the background knowledge for that." Valerian smiled an engaging and at the same time almost shy smile.   
"Of course, that too." Maastricht nodded.   
"I don’t want to bother you."   
"Not at all. Whoever has our money in hand also regularly demands it." Valerian nodded.   
"Is it too much for me to ask you to see the whole thing in person?" A fine smile illuminated Maastricht's features and made him far less sinister.   
"It would be an honor to welcome you here, Prince Valerian. When can we expect your arrival?"   
"In thirty-six hours." Erynn answered, still standing next to Valerian.   
"Wonderful. See you later, Prince Valerian."   
"See you soon, Dr. Maastricht."

The Comm blacked out and the onset of silence weighed heavily, until Valerian leisurely, but very obviously annoyed, asked:   
"Could you explain that sudden name change, Miss Ashton?" Erynn seemed to collapse for a moment, then stretched her shoulders and looked at Valerian seriously.   
"It's not a sudden name change. It's just that, obviously, certain documents disappeared from my file when it was on its way to you." Valerian's eyes widened. "Your dear father called me Mrs. Horner, but you talked to me as Miss Ashton the next day."   
"You could have said something!"   
"Would it have changed anything?"   
"You're married!" Valerian hissed and Matt was glad he didn’t get a nasty side glance. Erynn just shook her head gently.  
"Ugly divorce?" Tychus had lowered his voice, but from a man like him, even a whisper was audible far and wide.   
"This is not about me." Matt said with an unpleasantly dry mouth. Erynn shook her head again.   
"I am the widow of Matt's older brother Kenneth."   
The silence of the bridge crew became oppressive. Valerian made an almost toneless "Oh."   
Tychus mumbled: "I take that back with the ugly divorce." It was probably meant as an apology.   
"My condolences," Raynor said softly, but his words were serious. Erynn nodded her thanks, then turned back to Valerian.   
"I’ll prepare the Bucephalus for departure." Without waiting for his reaction, she nodded curtly to Matt and left the bridge. The cat was out of the bag and now they couldn’t avoid to discuss that sore spot any longer.  
"You could have told us," Raynor said in a fatherly tone.   
"Would it have changed something?" Matt wanted to know softly.   
"It would have thwarted some speculation."   
Matt snorted. "Anyone who wants to find something to chat about will find something. But that's still not an issue that belongs to the bridge. And Erynn is right: we need to prepare for our departure." The last sentence was more focused on the crew and Hall was the first to respond:   
"Of course, Captain!"

\---

Erynn sat lost in thought in the corner of the bar as Raynor entered. After a moment's hesitation, he joined her.   
"Commander."   
He looked down at her and the hint of a smile curled the corners of his eyes.   
"Erynn." He sat down and nodded slowly to her.  
"You know ... I'm a widower too.", He started the conversation after a moment.   
"Oh.", She made surprised. He traced the scratches in the table with a fingertip.   
"Our son had too much psionic talent to be privately taught," he said softly. "We literally lost him to the Ghost Academy." Before Erynn could speak, he sighed. "Liddy- my wife- couldn’t stand that, and the next winter she was broken ... one flu was enough..."   
"I'm so sorry, Commander." Erynn said quietly, hearing her voice filled with emotions. Raynor shrugged, but his eyes were grateful.  
"Kenny fell for the Confederation," she said even more quietly, studying the stains on Raynor's shirt. "He'd been registered as a reservist for a while, but ... but if we hadn’t lost our baby, he probably wouldn't have volunteered." Surprisingly, Raynor put his big hand on hers; he said nothing, so she looked up. There was a sympathetic, almost fatherly expression in his face. He gently squeezed her hand and she nodded, but that gesture almost brought tears to her eyes.  
"Does Matt know about it?" He finally asked, pulling back his hand. She shrugged. "You said you made mistakes that damaged your friendship..." he started cautiously and she sighed.   
"There was only one mistake, namely Kenneth. I suppose I could have married Matt's biggest enemy as well, and as long as it would have been out of love, he would have supported me, but Kenny ...?"   
"I see..."  
They were silent for a moment, then Raynor said as he looked past her:   
"Matt set the second warp jump for tomorrow morning."   
"Why he and not you?" Erynn wanted to know curiously. Raynor grinned crookedly.   
"He is responsible for such details. At least everyone can rely on it to work."   
"So you call yourself unreliable?" She asked in a perplexed tone.   
"I wouldn’t call it like that, but I'm more into spontaneous plans in the field." He cleared his throat. "In those cases where it doesn’t work out as expected, then there is Matt, who saves our butts with his genius for the emergency." Again, he looked past her and this time she followed his gaze. Matt was leaning against the bar, talking to Hall and another bridge officer. She couldn’t see his face, but the two women looked very interested.   
"His genius obviously gives him fans," she commented dryly. Raynor grinned.   
"Hall has been sneaking around him for a while. But unlike certain other people, he’s not going for workplace affairs." Erynn blushed and Raynor's grin grew a bit bigger before he let it turn into a smile. "Take care that you won’t suddenly stand between two men again. That could be ugly." She nodded, still hot-cheeked, and Raynor stood up. "See you tomorrow morning."

\---

"Welcome to DX-5839-T." Matt said as the Bucephalus landed. Valerian looked at the rich green and yellow of the jungle rising behind the surprisingly small research station; it was refreshing after the depressing view of Deadman's Port.   
"The air is breathable, but bad for our concepts. For the way from the ship to the station a breathing mask is not necessary, but recommended." Erynn informed him and he nodded.   
"You're coming?"   
"Of course." Was her simple answer. He nodded again and stepped to the comm. "Raynor, are you ready?" The commander nodded.   
"I am. Stetmann is apparently still stuck in the reports; I sent Tychus to get him. Swann prefers to stay in the armory, had some idea ..." Raynor turned aside and Matt said coolly:   
"I'll stay on the bridge."   
"As you wish."

Valerian, Erynn, Raynor, Tychus and Stetmann entered the station through an airlock behind which Dr. Maastricht and Dr. Kent- the scientist Valerian had first talked to- were waiting. The atrium was small and simple, to the airlock opposite wall hung a large map, left and right of it were also directions signs. Valerian pulled the mask off his face and after a polite welcome Maastricht asked:   
"May I assume that you all would like to see a real transformation?"   
"You may." Stetmann squeaked enthusiastically.   
"Come on."  
They followed Maastricht through the station and he said: "We have now achieved the fifth generation of werewolves, the latter being called Wargen, because they are clearly different in many ways."   
“When exactly was the breakthrough?" Stetmann asked in between. "I mean, it took an incredibly long time to even ... um ..." He broke off embarrassed. Valerian couldn't see Maastricht's face, but Kent looked piqued.   
"The first breakthrough was undoubtedly to make a transformation at all," Maastricht replied calmly. "After that we moved forward in many small steps. The Wargen-form was more of a coincidental discovery."   
"Sometimes all you need is luck." Tychus growled and Maastricht nodded.   
"Definitely. Please, come in."  
He opened a door and they entered something that looked like a fitness room. Next to a weight bench stood two young men, to which Kent waved. Valerian noticed that one of them had yellow eyes like Maastricht.   
"A second-generation werewolf and a Wargen." Kent said and Maastricht nodded to the yellow-eyed man. He took a step back and took a deep breath. Then his body began to stretch and shrink at the same time, shaking himself - and then there stood a real wolf in a pile of human clothes.   
"Woooooooaaaaaaaah...", Stetmann made like a little child.   
"Wow ...", Erynns voice was a fascinated hint. Valerian was deeply impressed, even though the reports they had received in advance had been accompanied by a short video.   
"Phat shit," Tychus said.   
"A normal adult wolf can weigh up to 80kg. However, the wolf form is bound to the laws of physics and so humans and wolves weigh the same, which is reflected in adjusted size and physique," said Kent.   
"Sounds logical," commented Raynor.  
The second man stretched and rolled his shoulders, then began his transformation, which was unbelievably irritating, for he remained standing on two legs and the pants he wore remained sitting on his hips, while the shirt stretched eerily, but did not crack. The long-curved legs carried a slender abdomen and a powerful rib cage, which held strong arms, which ended into something that looked more like hands than paws. The Wargen's head was surprisingly small and the snout looked deformed. This time even Stetmann remained silent in amazement, but Valerian caught himself staring at the Wargen with his mouth open.  
"You look impressed.", Maastricht stated amusingly.   
"You could say that…" Valerian mumbled, swallowing hard. The reports hadn’t prepared him in no way for this sight.   
"Is the transformation painful?" Erynn asked curiously, and Valerian flinched when the Wargen himself answered hoarsely:   
"No. Just uncomfortable."   
"Phat shit.", Tychus repeated his comment from before tonelessly and Stetmann squeaked in delight.   
"They retain the ability to speak?" Maastricht nodded.   
"Is the process of... hmm... well the beginning of it all- painful?" Erynn wanted to know and the Wargen shrugged.   
"I can’t remember."   
"The metamorphosis starts with the injection of a serum," Kent said in an instructive tone. "It has to stay in the body for 24-36 hours before it has to be exposed to a large amount of energy to activate the transformation."   
"The metamorphoses is extreme stress for the organism and the process itself, as well as the first unconscious transformation, are erased by the brain itself for self-protection purposes," Maastricht added. Then he nodded to the two. "Thank you. Come on, let's show you some of the labs."   
"Oh, yes." Stetmann actually bounced on the spot and as they left the room, Erynn mumbled to Valerian:   
“Are you sure the Dominion is not interested in the progress here?"   
"I've just seen the financial reports for science and research." Valerian mumbled back. "The part that goes into projects like this is vanishingly small, and considering that there are several projects, the amount that ends up _here_ is even smaller. If someone really would be interested in this, there would be more money."   
"True that." Erynn nodded slowly. He saw how fascinated she was, even though he thought he saw some doubt in her face.

\---

Matt watched the happening on a screen. They had attached a small camera to Raynor's shirt whose image quality was not overwhelming, but sufficient to increase Matt's distaste for the project on a minute-by-minute basis. Since no one else knew about the idea except for them seven, Matt sat in the small unused office next to the bridge and sullenly chewed his lower lip.  
Suddenly the door opened and Hall looked at him unhappily.   
"Sir, we receive a lot of radio waves. The station has been communicating with someone on this planet since we arrived."   
"Are you sure?" Matt stood up immediately and followed her back to the bridge.   
"Hughes has intercepted some messages, but the decryption is still taking place." Communications Officer Hughes nodded as he heard his name.   
"I'm sorry, sir. Captain Vaughn is also working on the problem. The program spit out a bunch of cryptic messages, but this second decoding is still in progress."   
"I don’t like that." Matt mumbled and called up the holo-map of the planet, which had no Terran activity except the research station. "Can we locate the station's communication partner?"   
"North of here, no more than 10km away," was the prompt answer.   
"Let's send some banshees."   
"Is that really necessary?" Someone asked cautiously.   
"If the Dominion is over there and just waiting to pocket our bounty, then yes, it's necessary." Matt replied sharply. He opened a comm to Swann. "Swann, are you watching the broadcast of Raynor?"   
"Yes. As Tychus says so beautifully: Phat shit." Swann grunted, frowning. "But I prefer my bada-boom."   
"I can understand. Listen, we've got at least dual-encrypted messages. I send some banshees to check out the surroundings, our scans say nothing."   
"Okay." Swann nodded. "Did you inform Raynor?"   
"Not yet."   
"Okay," Swann said again and Matt closed the comm.

\---

Egon's enthusiasm was 80% honest. In the meantime, he had experienced too much and spent too much time with skeptical Raiders to completely trust Maastricht and Kent. He'd also uncovered a lot of things in the research reports where he was not sure were true mistakes or intentional falsifications, but the more he saw, the more he tended toward the latter. Moreover, he had read in the reports well between the lines and what he got to hear here, also did not fit completely. But he played his role and absorbed everything that could be important.

They just reached an intersection inside the building and Maastricht casually stated: "Over there is the storage for the serums. Fortunately, these are stable for longer periods of time at room temperature so we can easily store them at 16 °C for a small eternity."   
"Saves costs," noted Raynor.   
"You won’t even believe how much cooling units are noticeable in energy consumption.", Maastricht sighed and shook his head. "Thank goodness we can do without larger frost cabinets here, just some of the ... hmm ... ingredients really need deep refrigeration on a permanent basis, but that's actually manageable." Egon nodded diligently and then it cracked in the mini headset he wore.  
_"Seven kilometers north of here is an unfortified camp of the Dominion. The station has a heavy flow of communication with them.”_ Horner sounded neutral as always, but the mere fact that he told them was it what Egon found disconcerting. He glanced at Raynor, who nodded to Kent. Erynn and Valerian looked at a micrograph of some cells framed on the wall. Tychus looked like he had a stomachache. In another statement from Maastricht, Horner reported again:   
_"I’m correcting myself. Below the camp is a simple bunker facility. And ..."_ He hesitated and didn’t sound quite so neutral anymore. _"They have requested the local armed forces. We should get out of here."_ Egon found that more than disturbing.  
"Tell me," began Tychus, "how big is the station here? It looked rather small from above."   
"Oh, well, the accommodations and the like are subterranean.”, Kent replied, because Maastricht had lost the thread through the interruption. "Above ground is everything that is needed for research." Maastricht cleared his throat.   
"There's only one room left that I wanted to show you." He pointed to the end of the corridor. "Video recordings. To be specific: recordings of the fighting power of werewolves and Wargen." Now it was more than obvious that the two scientists wanted to play for time, but Egon nodded enthusiastically.   
"Goodness, that must look imposing!" As if to reassure him, Erynn put a hand on his arm and smiled sympathetically.  
_"It is a trap. Egon, you come with me."_ Erynn's voice in his head overlapped with Horner’s.   
_"Commander, Medi-vacs and Marines are on their way. Hurry up."  
_ "Wonderful." Raynor said muffled and nodded to Maastricht. He opened the door and waved for them to enter.  
_"Now!"_ Erynn dragged Egon by the arm and he stumbled a few steps before catching himself again and running with her to the storage.   
"Hey!", Kent called in protest. Egon heard a deep rumble and a bark, followed by wolf howls and shots. Even before he could ask how they should get into the storage, the door jumped open and Erynn pushed him inside.   
"Take something from everything. Hurry up!" Five identical-looking large refrigerators were in front of him and he tore open the first one. The shelves were full of tubes, in which it shimmered greenish.   
"Here." Erynn handed him a small cooling bag from somewhere and he put a handful of tubes in it. Then it rumbled behind him and he spun around. With a startled screech he lunged, hit the fridge and almost dropped the bag, but then Erynn shot at the werewolf who had sneaked up.   
"Hurry up, Egon!" She said sternly.   
"Yes, yes, of course!"  
He opened the second fridge and took out a few of the yellowish tubes, from the third bluish and from the fourth magenta-colored ones. He even managed not to turn around when Erynn killed more werewolves. Then he opened the fifth fridge and took out a pair of reddish-brown tubes as his eyes fell on a smaller, sixth fridge, secured by a large number lock.   
"However you opened the door ... can you do that with the lock here?" He asked. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded. Immediately, the individual number fields turned until it clicked.   
"You would be a wonderful bank robber.", He murmured and opened the Fridge. She snorted.   
"They are all protected against psionic attacks these days. But ... somebody like Kerrigan could probably do it anyway." Her last words sounded tense and then a wolf howled again. Egon bit his lip, and to his astonishment discovered only a single tube in the refrigerator. The serum in it shimmered silvery and he hesitated for a moment before placing it in the small bag.   
"Got everything.", He announced and turned around. Erynn held a knife that he hadn’t realized she brought it with her, and was covered in blood. Startled, he squealed.   
"Come on." She nodded to the door and cautiously stepped over the dead werewolves, which had uncomfortably turned back to their human form.  
When they reached the intersection, the other three also came blood-stained from the supposed media room.   
"Where were you?" Valerian hissed.   
"Save our future," Erynn replied, grabbing Egon's arm again. Together they ran through the corridors.   
"Maastricht is dead," Raynor explained meanwhile. "But Kent has disappeared." Prompt, his voice sounded over a speaker:   
"Stop them!"   
_"The Marines have reached the entrance,"_ Horner announced.   
"There!" Valerian pointed with his sword in one direction and ran ahead.   
"I'm incredibly happy that you're not completely obsessed with being a civilian." Erynn groaned to the Prince and Egon could only agree with her. All the more so when two werewolves jumped out from one room and Valerian apparently beheaded one of them easily.  
Egon pressed the cooling bag to his chest and tried to stay calm. The others surrounded him protectively, Erynn repeatedly sought eye contact to calm him down. Then three Wargen stormed out of a corridor and Tychus pushed open the door next to him, before grabbing Egon by the collar and pulling him away.   
"He-hey!" Then he stumbled in surprise into the gym they had seen at the start and swallowed hard. The room had unpleasant many doors.  
"Matt! What's up?" Raynor shouted, closing the door behind him as they hurried towards the one, they had come through at the beginning of their tour.   
_"Kent has sealed off parts of the station, but the Marines are close by. I sent troops to intercept the Dominion forces."_  
"Very good, we-" One of the doors flew open and a jumble of werewolves and Wargen rushed in.   
"Ever played Frisbee with weight plates?" Tychus asked.   
"At some point it’s always the first time.", Raynor replied and the two got started. Egon was too shocked to give them a lecture that it was actually impossible, but the discs really flew while Erynn looked highly focused.   
"And she really is not a Ghost?" He whispered impressed to Valerian as a weight plate collided with a wolf's skull, spouting blood and brain.   
"No. Her psi is tech-oriented," Valerian responded curtly, spinning as three more doors flew open almost at the same time.  
"Retreat!"   
"Shit!" Growled Raynor, and Egon was about to start moving as metal bars spilled out of the floor across the room and turned it into small jail cells. Egon looked around - at least the werewolves didn’t reach them like that anymore.   
"A high five for the intern security system," growled Tychus.   
"At least we're safe till the Marines are with us." Egon dared to say. He and Valerian had been separated from Tychus, Raynor and Erynn. The latter knelt on the ground and gasped, Raynor kneeling next to her and Egon saw blood dripping from her nose.   
"Everything alright?"   
"Will be fine.", She murmured, holding onto the commander.  
"Commander?" A tinny sound came from a marine speaker - they had appeared in the door through which they had wanted to disappear.   
"All right, boys," Raynor called back, and Valerian asked:   
"Erynn, can you make the bars disappear so we can get out of here?" Egon looked at her uncertainly, but remained silent. She shivered and some of the rows of bars disappeared into the ground again, but then she shook her head weakly. Raynor straightened up and called to the Marines to try to bend the bars as Valerian knelt beside Erynn and hugged her.   
"You have the better weapon," Tychus grunted and knelt beside them. "I'll take care of her." Confused, Egon watched Valerian and Tychus eyeing each other, then the prince rose and Tychus cautiously picked up Erynn. Metal groaned in the background. Egon turned and watched as two Marines laboriously turned the metal bars apart so that people could slip through. Egon followed Valerian and already felt better in the presence of the Marines. Strange, he thought, because they had come here after all to convince themselves of the usefulness of those werewolves.

As he hurried back to the airlock with the others, he thought about various possibilities for improvement, the main ideas for it he had already found while reading the reports. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t think about the breathing mask and was struck by the air outside the station. Raynor grabbed his arm.   
"Come on." On the way to the station they had been walking- now Medivacs were waiting for them and the Marines.  
_"The station has officially requested Dominion support,"_ Horner said as the Medivac's ramp closed behind Valerian. Egon dropped into a seat and gasped, his fingers clawed on the small cooling bag.   
_"Hyperion, Bucephalus, get ready for the start! Commander, shall we clean up a bit?"  
_ Raynor made a strange snort. "Would be better..."   
_"Good. Vaughn, start and aim the Yamato cannon at the station."_ Egon tried to shut out Horner, who half spoke to Raynor and half gave orders. The Medivac landed gently in one of the bays inside the Hyperion.   
_"Start!"_ , Horner ordered and immediately Raynor said sharply:   
"Sit down." Egon, who had half raised himself, immediately fell back into his seat, just as a strong vibration went through his body, as the Hyperion cumbersome took off. Erynn, who was still held by Tychus and thus practically sitting on his lap, moaned softly.   
"Looks like a psionic shock," Raynor said softly at Valerian's questioning look. "She’s completely exhausted," he added.   
_"Will be fine."_ Horner intervened. _"Hot chocolate and a nap would be a good start."_   
"Did she have that more often before?" Valerian asked worriedly.   
_"As a teenager in the training phase every now and then. But as I said, will be fine soon."_ Egon found himself smiling at Erynn. Now she looked weak and vulnerable, but she had unhesitatingly escorted him to the storage and protected him. He would thank her later. But first he would stow away his treasures and make a plan - the werewolves and Wargen were good, but still inferior. So he would develop them further, adapt them, make them superior, and then he would bring man and wolf together again. He couldn’t wait to get back to his lab.

\---

Matt ordered a hot chocolate in the canteen and went to the Med-bay. Erynn lay, still in her bloodied clothes, curled up on a bed in one of the observation rooms. Matt knocked and entered.   
"Hey..."   
"Hey..." She smiled weakly at him and sat up. In an almost defensive attitude, she pulled her knees to her breast, but happily accepted the hot chocolate.   
"How are you?", He wanted to know and felt very stupid. After yesterday's public conversation, they had only met briefly in the bar, but at that time they both preferred to avoid the talk.   
"It’s okay," she said slowly, sipping the cup carefully. "Mm, you thought of the cinnamon," she muttered.   
"Sure, why not?" He shrugged quizzically and she bit her lip before carefully placing the cup on the bedside table. And if she put away her beloved hot chocolate with cinnamon- Matt knew that too well- she would burst into tears within the next few minutes.

"Do you have time to listen?", She wanted to know. He nodded, though she did not look at him. She chewed on her lip for a moment, then said softly:   
"Kenny's probably going to be forever the biggest mistake of my life." Surprised, he looked at her. Without looking up, she continued: "He was an adventure, you know. I was curious to get to know other sides of him, after all, I had known him all my life. I wanted to go out with him, maybe have some fun, you know ... but he was so lovely, so romantic ... and somehow I didn’t have the guts to turn him down. At some point, I probably imagined that I would really love him, otherwise he would never made me a proposal. And yet, I almost felt forced to accept it."  
"You wouldn’t have to say _no_ directly, but you could have postponed it to a later date." Matt interjected cautiously and she snorted helplessly.   
"At that moment there was only black or white and black was unthinkable. Besides ..." A pained expression entered her face. "I always wanted to be a shining bride. My own personal prince by my side and all the shit." She took a shaky breath and tears shimmered in her eyes.   
"It was like a living daydream and nightmare at the same time." Matt's hands clenched into fists and he lowered his eyes.  
"I've gained a brother and lost my best friend." He really wanted to tell her that she had never lost him, but the words turned to ashes on his tongue. The first tear rolled over her cheek.   
"Kenny didn’t care. You've always been so close, but that's one point he couldn’t get. It didn’t even take half a year until our relationship was close to becoming a pile of shit. The college bored me, I didn’t feel well in this average life, I wanted to do or experience so much stuff. And then I got pregnant." She paused and sniffled.  
"Kenny immediately started talking about his son. The _we_ had somehow become completely irrelevant; it was all about the child." Matt had not been home for a long time back then, probably the wedding had been the last time he had spoken to them.  
"In the fifth month, at some point, I was on a special check up and ... and ... the heart wasn’t beating." She sniffed and Matt flinched, he wanted to hug her and was unable to move. "I had to give birth to my dead child, but I didn’t feel anything. It would have been a girl, but it was sick and never viable. But Kenny didn’t care, I'm not even sure he even listened to me. For him… it was my psi’s fault."   
"Bastard." Matt mumbled shocked. He had received a brief message from his mother that Kenny and Erynn had lost a baby and he shouldn’t talk to them, but he hadn’t intended to do so anyway.  
"Two weeks later he registered as an active soldier and I wanted to file a divorce, I was almost glad that this child would never exist, although I would have loved it with all my heart. But it would have bound me to Kenny forever and that ..." She shook her head weakly. "My mother asked me to wait. So I did her the favor and then two letters fluttered into the house. Once the invitation to participate in a special training for less-psionic people like me. And then the death announcement for Kenny. I packed my things the same day."  
  
It was quiet for a long moment. Matt wasn't sure if she wanted to continue or if it was his turn, but then she sighed deeply.   
"The Adjutant-Training was everything. Liberating, brutal, painful ... they drove us so far through the ghost program as our psi level allowed. But I was happy, that was so much more what I wanted to be. I became Adjutant for a Confederate politician who joined the Sons of Korhal shortly before Mengsk's coming into power. We hadn’t been in his base for two days when Mengsk called for me personally to his office." She grimaced and Matt knew what it was about.  
"My background check linked me to a renegade, a Raider." She spat out the words, as if she did indeed feel revulsion. "I told him everything he wanted to hear, and he put me under surveillance, holding me close to him. He made me the adjutant of some politician in his inner circle after he made himself Emperor. It probably was like brainwashing, because when he called me again and explained that I would become adjutant to his son, I felt honored. Whitewashed of all doubts. He entrusted his son to me." Astonished at herself, she shook her head.  
"I didn’t really know Valerian, but he was so refreshingly different in this madhouse of palace. In many ways much more adult with just twenty-one than many of the men around him. His point of view has opened my eyes again." An unhappy expression appeared on her face.  
"And then, over Moebius, he came in contact with Raynor. I stayed out of it and watched the conversations afterwards. I saw you standing there, on Raynor's side, as captain ... and ..." Now she was really crying and Matt was still frozen in place. He had wanted to kick Raynors ass because Raynor had wanted to work with Valerian, but now he was glad about it.  
"I know I should have said something, but only after Char, when it couldn’t be postponed further, I accompanied Valerian. And you were completely normal, even comforting me and ..." She sniffed heavily. "Why aren’t you mad with me? Why aren’t you at least disappointed? Why ... why ..."  
Matt finally managed to sit down on the bed, gently pulling her into his arms and when he pressed her head against his shoulder, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.   
"Are you feeling guilty for breaking my heart? You don’t have to. Honestly, that was foreseeable. I know that you knew about my feelings and that you ignored them to protect our friendship. For the same reason, I never said anything. Yeah, I was ... mad and disappointed that it just had to be Kenny and I admit I got a little bit worked up about it. But the real asshole is Kenny. He purposely bombarded our friendship by going out with you simply because he was jealous. And in the end, he treated you like shit. If I hear it that way, I could really punch him." He paused to catch his breath and gave Erynn a quick kiss on the hair. "You were always way too good for him and he could never have been good enough for you."   
"Bu-but-"   
"Shh. No, really. My mum said at that time that she doesn’t think that it will work for a long time. She was right."  
"But Matt ..." Erynn whispered on his shoulder. "How can you ... how can you pretend that there has never been anything happening?"   
"Hmm ...", he made slowly. "I don’t know."

He thought for a while, before finally saying: "Time heals a lot of wounds, and in that case a hell lot of time has passed. By the way ... I think the woman you are now was already in the girl you have been back then. You haven’t changed, just evolved - in a predictable direction. And if I'm really honest ... the boy of those days is still in here somewhere."   
"Of course he is. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here." Erynn whispered in a tone as if he was a little stupid.  
"You mean ... it's all okay? We talked and everything is good?", She asked a little doubtfully when he didn’t say anything else. And yes, he for his part was done with this topic. He had probably been since a long time ago, though it was good she had told him all. It felt incredibly good that suddenly there was again someone, where he could just be himself, and he realized that he had missed that feeling. He had missed Erynn.  
"Yes," he said in a low voice, "everything’s okay for me." As if he had said the opposite, she sobbed and pushed him away, looking at him in bewilderment, whispering:   
"I missed you." She pulled his face down to her and pressed her forehead against his. The tear that rolled down his cheek and bumped her fingers was probably answer enough.

\---

 _"Maastricht wanted to arrest us and sell us to the Emperor."_ The sentence echoed in Valerian as he sat in the med-bay, fortunately getting treated only for superficial wounds. After returning to the Hyperion he had gone directly to the bridge to get an overview, but that sentence had hit him so hard that Hall hadn’t had a hard time sending him to the med-bay.  
He was a rebel now. Maybe not a terrorist like Raynor, but a rebel, not a prince.  
The dirty and torn jacket of his uniform lay beside him, but the sight disgusted him at once. The arrogance and pride he'd been trained on disgusted him. His reflection, looking a little distorted from a small mirror in a corner, disgusted him.  
His hand gripped the scabbard and he lowered his eyes. He would have to clean the sword properly. And then Tychus' fairy tale came to his mind. Suddenly he could hardly wait for Stetmann to finish his analysis and discuss their next steps. He would fight his crazy father, retake his empire and show the world that he was a much better man than Arcturus.  
He got up swinging and frightened the nurse, who was just clearing away the bandages. With long strides he crossed the med-bay and stopped dead in his tracks as he glanced through a window into one of the observation rooms. His new enthusiasm vanished. Matt held a very obviously crying Erynn in his arms and also seemed very emotional.  
"Jealousy is a pretty ugly feeling, huh?" Valerian winced when Raynor suddenly stood in front of him with a wry smile. Then he glanced again at the two. Erynn was so self-confident and strong, yet so vulnerable that it seemed like a proof to his own strength to hold her and comfort her. And though Matt wasn’t a warrior, not tall and full of muscle, he had broad shoulders and radiated inner calm and a very special kind of strength, so it really seemed to be liberating to be held by him.

"I don’t understand what's so special about him." Valerian said a little snotty, a bit ashamed of his thoughts.   
"Does it really matter?" Raynor asked. "He's important to her, she cares about him. And he cares about her, so you don’t have to worry about him hurting her." Valerian grimaced. "She’s important to you, right? So the fact, that she values this friendship, should be enough for you to accept it as it is." He took a breath but found no words. In the meantime, Erynn and Matt sat forehead on forehead.  
"Did she tell you about Kenneth?" Raynor asked.   
"She said they were both too young and immature," Valerian muttered.   
"Well, that's why their friendship broke down and I bet a hundred credits, that's just what the two are talking about." Raynor nodded to Valerian and silently they left the med-bay.  
"We're all sitting in the same puddle, so please don’t try to put yourself between them. That could end ugly." Raynor said and Valerian nodded. He felt like a scolded kid. But before he could say anything, Raynor went on. "And junior ...?"   
"Huh?"   
"I like your fighting style." He pointed at the sword and grinned crookedly. Valerian blushed and smiled sheepishly.   
"Thank you, Commander."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I got a bit carried away with the emotional stuff again...^^


	9. Project Bloodmoon - second steps

Raynor turned his glass between his fingers and watched the liquid slosh inside. Matt leaned against the bar and watched him across the room until he finally took his Gin Tonic and went to Raynor's table.   
"If you promise to call me Jim, you can sit down." Raynor growled in a surprisingly bad mood. Matt raised his eyebrows in irritation.   
"I'm certainly not going to do that on the bridge, but here ..." He shrugged and sat down. "Okay, Jim ... what's up?" Jim sighed deeply.   
"I talked to Erynn for a while, you know. And right now, I'm thinking about Liddy a lot."   
"Oh. I think you've never really talked about her before." Matt said quietly and Jim shrugged.   
"She and Johnny are always in here," he tapped his chest, "but that's past. Completed. Or at least that's what I thought..." Matt was admittedly a little confused.  
"Because ...?"   
"Erynn said that if she could, she would turn back time and do things differently. And now I'm thinking about _how far_ I would turn back time if I could." That Erynn would do that didn’t surprise Matt very much. "Would you do it?" Jim asked him and he shrugged.   
"I don’t know. To be honest, I'm scared that anything would go much worse than it is now." Jim chuckled and shook his head.   
"That sounds very much like you." Then he took a sip and pressed the glass thoughtfully against his bearded cheek.  
"You know, the point that concerns me most is Liddy's death. We decided against a second child, even before we knew Johnny was _gifted_. If I had made my wish clearer, she would have had a second child, something she could have stuck to what it would have been worth. She wouldn’t have gotten broken and died from Johnny's death." Matt had no idea of parental feelings, but Jim sounded confident and so he simply nodded.  
"On the other hand, ... I could protect Sarah from Arcturus' betrayal. Prevent her from becoming the Queen of Blades. Or just kill Arcturus directly and never let that shit here happen." Jim emptied his glass and put it hard on the table. "But it's idle to speculate."   
"It is," Matt said slowly, taking a sip.   
"And yet, the thought doesn’t let me go." Matt sighed. That was the Jim, who had been pondering since Char and sank into a spiral of depression- again. He hadn’t been able to save Kerrigan, and it deeply annoyed Matt that he was losing sight of the Raiders main goal- to dispossess Mengsk.  
"What-if brings no one nothing, Jim," he said cautiously. "And we cannot turn back time. So focus on the _here and now_."   
“I know, Matt, I know." Jim ran his hand through his hair and looked extremely unhappy. "But I could not protect Liddy or Sarah. I know that was impossible anyway, but still."   
"Do you think they'd be disappointed with you?" Jim shrugged.   
"It feels like it..." Matt sighed softly and took another sip before saying:   
"When you stormed the Bucephalus, thinking you were finally meeting Arcturus, I said _This is not a smart move_. And Tychus said _You wanted a revolution, kid? Now you got it_. What I mean, Jim, is that the ability to bring Kerrigan back was practically a coincidence. We put everything on the line for this crazy idea and now, same for Valerian, we are almost left with nothing. A few weeks ago, Mengsk was the big enemy and today he is suddenly nonessential. But that's exactly what the Raiders have teamed up for. What we fought for in recent years." He paused. "It doesn’t matter if Liddy is disappointed with you, as hard as that sounds, but the Raiders are disappointed ... and exactly them need you right now.” It was not the first time Matt had spoken to Jim like this, but it was different this time.   
"I don’t think they really need me," Jim said softly after a moment. "They have you."   
"But they are _Raynor's_ Raiders. And I am more than satisfied as Captain. _Together to the gates of hell and beyond_ , right?"

Jim looked thoughtfully at the empty glass and didn’t answer, Matt was silent. As he was about to speak, Valerian arrived at the table. Matt had to admit that he was looking good in civilian clothes; his uniform had distracted too much from the person himself. However - and to Matt it seemed almost ridiculous - he still wore his sword. Maybe he felt safer with that, but it was smiled on by many raiders as a "I have the biggest”- gesture.  
"Stetmann wants to see us in the lab." Valerian said without bothering with a greeting.   
"I don’t think he said so." Jim retorted and Valerian chuckled.   
"He didn’t. But I stopped by and he said he had news. The others are already on their way."   
"Well then..." Jim nodded and the three of them left the bar.

\---

Even before they reached the lab, they heard Tychus’ piercing laugh. When they finally turned a corner, they saw the other three too. Erynn had apparently told a story, because Tychus laughed heartily and even Swann smiled. But Matt saw all the more clearly how Valerian's face became expressionless. As long as Erynn was not around, the outcast prince was surprisingly affable and yet somehow just a normal young man. But when his adjutant was there, he seemed closed and withdrawn, almost as if he wanted to hide. Matt began to feel that something had happened between the two of them, because he could no longer quite believe that this was a simple jealousy of an old friendship.

"Junior, your girl is worth gold," Tychus grinned.   
"I know," Valerian said a little stiffly, and before the conversation could move in an awkward direction, Jim said:   
"Let's see what our golden scientist has for us."   
"Good plan," Swann growled and they entered the lab.  
Stetmann had expected them and looked very nervous.   
"Commander, Prince Valerian..." He fumbled with a button on his coat.   
"They say you have news," Jim said, smiling reassuringly.   
"Oh yeah. So..." Stetmann cleared his throat and took off his laboratory goggles. "I have three good and two bad news." Matt suppressed a sigh; after all, the good news prevailed. "I've managed to improve both the werewolves and the Wargen a bit. So, I adapted them to our needs. And the human form is more involved and-" Stetmann became hectic and Swann patted him on the shoulder.   
"Easy, boy. Take a deep breath and start again."   
"Um ... yes..." The scientist cleared his throat again and went to a console, where he called up some data; the model of a human and a wolf turned next to rows of facts and statistics.  
"The werewolf," Stetmann said and Matt and the others stepped closer to look over his shoulder. "I've focused on improving the human form. More power, less sleep, better self-healing..." As he spoke, various parts of the human model lit up. "The wolf form is a robust fighter with increased self-healing, but basically just an add-on." Stetmann cleared his throat again.  
"The Wargen." The model on the screen changed. "The human form is the same, I'm afraid, you just cannot get more out of us. But the Wargen form..." He stopped almost fascinated and Matt shuddered a bit as he looked at the model. Fingers with claws that were almost as long again, fangs, huge hind paws for a good standing... The idea of turning into such a monster caused him nausea.  
"The Wargen form is designed for combat. Rapid self-healing, extreme bone density, good night vision. Strength, endurance, speed, agility..." Stetmann almost squealed with joy. "As you've already seen, they retain the ability to speak and can reach an even higher speed in a quadruped position." He called up an animation.   
"That looks a bit silly," Tychus commented critically, watching as the Wargen ran on all fours.   
"Yes, well, true." Stetmann nodded and shrugged at the same time apologetically.   
"A quick retreat can save your butt, Tychus, don’t forget that." Jim said thoughtfully.   
"Yeah, but that just looks ... ridiculous."   
"I think in that moment you don’t care." Matt said dryly and Jim forced a smile.   
"Never underestimate Tychus’ ego." Both Matt and Tychus snorted, Erynn chuckled.  
"The third good news is..." Stetmann called up new data and only the human model could be seen. "Maastricht had prepared a new generation, but it was still fairly immature. I don’t want to lean too far out of the window, but I'd say it's a masterpiece."   
"A masterpiece you could finish," Swann sneered. Stetmann blushed but grinned widely.   
"This ... should fulfill the wildest dreams. If it works."   
"You don’t know?" Matt asked worriedly.   
"Well, uhm, no ... not exactly." Stetmann shrugged uneasily. "The adjustments are so complex that I have to tie the last steps directly to the DNA of the new medium. I don’t know what's coming out, Captain, I cannot predict it, and I cannot calculate any risk. There are just too many unknowns. But if the metamorphosis works and only half of what I expect is actually implemented..." He looked at Valerian and Jim. "Then here we have the recipe for our victory, Commander."  
For a moment, it was quiet.   
"Don’t get pathetic now, Kiddo." Tychus growled.   
"Why isn’t there a transformed model pictured?" Valerian asked.   
"As I said, I don’t know what comes out of it. The Wargen form is a basis, but the given source material from Maastricht had a lot of mistakes that I had to fix." Stetmann was nervous again.   
"But a transformation is possible?" Valerian asked, and Stetmann nodded.   
"That's what it's all about. I just cannot predict what the shape will look like, because I have to incorporate the DNA of the ... um ... patient."   
"So you think it could also be a completely disfigured _something_?" Matt asked softly and Stetmann, now very pale, nodded again. That was enough answer for Matt and he shook his head.  
"The first two variants I think are feasible," said Valerian, before Matt had even time to take a breath, and Jim nodded thoughtfully.   
"Do you think that with a little more time you could make the third version a bit more… save?"   
"I think so," Stetmann answered slowly. "I have a few more ideas, but the week you've been giving me was not nearly enough." The soft criticism left Jim untouched.   
"Well. Then move on and we'll let the news sink in."   
"O-okay... "

\---

"I don’t think that's a good idea," Horner said stiffly as they left the lab.   
"You think most of Jimmy's ideas are stupid or dangerous, and yet you're standing here." Tychus growled at the captain.   
"I'll hopefully still be allowed to give my opinion, convict!" Horner spit out the words downright. "This," he pointed to the lab, "goes further than a commander can order me to go!" And with that he turned and walked away with long strides. Tychus looked up in surprise, his eyebrows raised.   
"Oh la la, there's probably someone who got up on the wrong foot." Valerian could not hide a mocking smile.  
"What worries me a lot more," Erynn said quietly, looking down the hallway where Horner had disappeared, "is how we want to pay for it." She turned and threw Valerian and Jim questioning looks. "I hardly believe that Egon has all the ingredients in the fridge."   
"Well," said Jim and nodded suspiciously. "That's a damn good question."   
"Always short of cash," Swann muttered, shaking his head.   
"A revolution is costly," teased Tychus, and Valerian said quietly:   
"We do what rebels do: steal, fight, sell, trade." Tychus was mildly impressed, and Erynn smirked:   
"As cute as it sounds coming from you, but do you seriously think your father will happily let you play the bandit?" Valerian blushed and Tychus grinned widely, while Jim said:   
"Maybe he would even do that, but not with me as a playmate.”   
"Sorry, but what else should we do?" Valerian demanded, miffed and tense.  
"No, Junior, you're right. It's not like we used to do anything else to finance ourselves," Jim said, sighing and running a hand through his hair.   
"The good old times..." Tychus chuckled. Erynn shook her head.   
"I'll ask Egon to set up a cost analysis as soon as he’s done. Or at least get the raw data for it." Jim nodded and Erynn, accompanied by Valerian, turned around.  
"I don’t like the way you're talking to me lately," Tychus heard Valerian angrily saying to her.   
"I'm sorry," came the serious answer, and Tychus suppressed a laugh; evidently, Erynn took her boss as a rebel much less seriously than before as a prince.  
"Listen, Cowboy," Swann started, as they started to walk back to the bridge. "I know that's important to you, but we've just gotten enough credits to get the Hyperion afloat again. I have no idea how expensive Stetmann's project will be, but it will not be cheap. And if you want to shoot any sledgehammer mercenary things again, we'll end up with a flying scrap heap again. It's developing into a vicious circle."   
"I know, Swann, but somehow we have to move forward," Jim retorted.   
"Just want to have said it." Swann muttered and toddled off.

For a moment they went on in silence.   
"Jim?"   
"Hmm?"   
"Are you telling me what's going on in your stubborn pighead?" Tychus asked his old friend.   
"If I only knew myself..." Jim murmured and grinned crookedly. "No, honestly... It's scary, but Stetmann is right. We have to adapt, otherwise we go down. And this Wargen form just..." Jim obviously was looking for words and Tychus kept his mouth shut, instead of bothering him. "You know, the Zerg must have seen something in Sarah, otherwise they would never have made her what she is. Or was. They have transformed her, adapted her, taken her strength and potentiated ... perhaps created even the best of what a hybrid of human and Zerg could ever be. These werewolves and Wargen ... are a bit like trying to emulate that. It scares me, Tychus, but I have the vague feeling that it's the only way we can go." Tychus nodded slowly.   
"I like the animalistic thing. Sure, you could say now, that's raw and brutal, but nature has already thought of the animals and we used to be monkeys. And honestly, being a werewolf is preferable to being a Zerg."   
"Yeah," Jim said softly," yeah, I feel the same way..."

\---

Valerian stared into the mirror, frowning angrily.   
_"As cute as it sounds coming from you, but do you seriously think your father will happily let you play the bandit?"_   
Pah, as if he was a kid playing adventure games. He wasn’t cute or sweet, but Erynn's words and her look had just implied that. He studied himself, the aristocratic features, the stormy grey eyes, the narrow cheeks and the full lips, which - when he was upset, as now - tightened and became even fuller, which bothered him even more than usual. It looked like a girlish pouting and he didn’t like it.  
Erynn sounded like he was a child. Matt kept treating him like he was a kid who was suddenly allowed to dine with the adults. Raynor reprimanded him like a child. Damn it, he was not a kid anymore! He was no longer a teenager who rebelled as he grew up. He was a grown man. His reflection still pouted at him and he turned away.

Valerian entered his office and paused for a moment. Erynn was sitting at his desk, frowning disapprovingly as she apparently compared data on her datapad and his computer terminal. He approached her and rested his hand on the desk in a way that he blocked her view while he reached with his other hand for the back of the desk chair. Irritated, she looked up at him.  
"What do you think, who I am?", He wanted to know in his best I’m-the-one-to-call-the-shots-manner.   
"Valerian Mengsk.", She answered promptly. "Son of Emperor Arcturus Mengsk and Juliana Pasteur. Former prince, now rebel." She paused for a moment. "You're my boss."   
"Yes," he said, "and what am I as well? For you, I mean."   
"What do you want to hear now?" She asked uncertainly and he looked her in the eye.   
"I don’t know, tell me..." He indicated a smile and she began to smile weakly.   
"You are my boss. And I suppose you'd like it if I added something like _friend_ or _lover_ now, right?" He raised an eyebrow in silence and she cocked her head slightly. Lover... that sounded exciting, romantic and unfortunately like much more than there was between them.  
"I don’t know, Valerian...", she said then. "Does it need a word for it?"   
"You said I should think about how this should go on." He replied and she nodded. "I thought it would be nice to have you as a friend, but when I look at you right now..." He took his hand off the table and cupped her chin, "pure friendship probably isn’t possible."   
"That's called _friendship plus_. ", she said and pushed his hand aside with a mocking smile.   
"I feel like a little _plus_ now," he remarked in a lowered voice; inside, he pushed aside the pouting.   
"Well, and I have work to do." Angrily, he frowned. "Come on, you're a big boy, you've learned to wait for things, haven’t you?" With a hiss, he straightened himself.   
"I'm not a boy anymore, Erynn! Why on earth are everyone’s treating me like a child?" There was a hint of surprise on her face, and he stifled a growl.   
"I am well aware that you are a man. But in there," she stretched to touch him gently on the chest, "is still a lot of a child. And that's not meant to be bad at all," she added quickly as he now growled for real. "I just mean that in many ways you simply lack the life experience." He snorted.   
"That doesn’t mean that you have to treat me like a child. It's not like my life was just pure sunshine and rainbow ponies." He gave her a bitter look, felt his mouth twist, and then turned around jerkily to leave.  
"Nobody says so," she said after a moment in which he thought she would just let him go. "All I'm saying is that Raynor, for example, is eleven years older than you. He was at war, founded and lost a family. Tychus is again older and Swann again. Those are years of experience, lessons, mistakes..." He didn’t turn to her, but bit his lip and took a deep breath. He knew she was right, but that didn’t make it any better.   
"I grew up with two boys and I know how you grew up. The chaos inside you ... I would allege, parts of you are just in puberty now, because you didn’t have the opportunity in the past to develop youself properly." With a snort he turned around.   
"You can say that to your children, but not to me," he snapped, and for a moment she looked hurt.   
"I like you, Valerian," she said softly, looking at the desk. "I'd like to help you if I could, but we all have to pass this mess inside. No matter if we are seventeen or twenty-three." Unable to think of a suitable answer, he left his office with long strides and deeply regretted that he could not slam the door behind him.

\---  
\---

Erynn had sold technical blueprints and other gadgets to friendly mercenaries with Swann, and watched in amazement how Raynor, Tychus and Matt had quickly found some jobs as lucrative as dangerous and how they had done them with cold efficiency. The three were an intriguing team, Raynor and Tychus, as well as Raynor and Matt have long been playing as a team, the third one an excellent addition to it. When she watched Matt planning and giving orders, she barely recognized her old friend; it was almost scary, but heaven, he was damned good at what he was doing.

She entered the bridge and was not surprised that Matt stood staring on the star map. Jessica Hall gave her a friendly nod and she nodded back before stepping next to Matt.   
"Hey, do you have a moment?" He nodded and looked up.   
"What's up?" Critically, she looked at his tired-looking face and then pulled out her datapad.   
"I spent the morning with Egon to make a quote." She opened the file and held out the datapad to Matt. His eyebrows shot up.   
"Are you serious?" She grimaced uncomfortably, then shrugged.   
"We went through different scenarios, and this is the sum for most probable one." He paused for an uncomfortably long moment, then shook his head.   
"Shit."   
"I know," she said softly. Surprised, he ran his hand through his hair and shook his head again.   
"If we don’t stumble over a treasure, that's hardly possible to pay."   
"I know, Matt, I know. I've already squeezed Egon over all sorts of substitute ingredients, but ... well, either impossible to obtain or impossible to pay." In a helpless gesture, she raised her hands.  
"We're all together tens of thousands of men and I assume that hardly anyone will refuse the project."   
"How do you think so?" He wanted to know with a frown. "I mean, the project is something else than a simple service on a battlecruiser."   
"I'm aware of that. But the Raiders have an almost uncanny loyalty, and Valerian has made it clear to his people that he doesn’t force anyone to turn against the Emperor. They are all standing behind him.", She explained and to her surprise he simply asked:   
"Don’t you count yourself to Valerian's people?"   
"Yes, of course I do. Why?"   
"Because it doesn’t sound like it." Irritated, she looked at him, then she smiled sheepishly.   
"It’s an adjutant thing, I suppose. We have been told that we are an extension of our superior."   
"So you identify yourself with Valerian?" He arched an eyebrow and on his lips played a mocking smile. In response, she shook her head.   
"No, but my point is clear. And there's no doubt about that."   
"Whatever you say..."  
The brief silence was interrupted by the _ping_ of the Datapad in her hand, she could hear another vibrating humming and then Matt pulled his own one out.   
"Egon," she said as he said: "Stetmann." Their eyes met.  
"I'm curious what he has for us."

Together they walked through the Hyperion to the lab and when they had left one of the busier sections, Matt wanted to know:   
"How are the things between you and Valerian?" She looked at him in surprise and he smiled apologetically. "It looks like there's something wrong."   
"Oh. Well..."   
"I don’t want to interfere, but his behavior doesn’t look like he's just jealous of something. He looks rather hurt to me." Matt said carefully.   
"And you’re interested because...?", She pursued just as carefully. He sighed deeply.   
"I don’t really care what he is for you, boss or lover or whatever. But I can see that he is important to you, and that alone is a reason to ask if everything is alright." The smile that crept onto her face apparently irritated him a little, because he asked: "What?"   
"Oh, nothing. You are just a wonderful friend. And what you just said is a point Valerian still has to learn." She sighed. "That's exactly the problem. He complains that everyone is treating him like a child. I tried to explain it to him, but well..."   
"Well, sometimes he does behave like one." Matt shrugged.   
"Don’t say that when he’s present," she warned and he smiled.   
"Very late in puberty, isn’t he?"   
"Stop teasing. It's not his fault."   
"Of course not. But hormonal mistakes in school have less impact than if you command several thousand men." She looked at Matt in warning and he looked back critically. "You don’t need to protect him, you know I'm right."   
"Yeah, sure..."   
"But ...?"   
She sighed. "In times like this, he's like a little brother..."  
Matt snorted. "You wouldn’t go to bed with a little brother."   
"Oh, come on! One thing has nothing to do with the other!" She glared at him angrily. Sometimes Matt's subversive aversion to Valerian was hard to bear.  
"If he's immature, yes. But I suppose he's already fully grown up in that aspect." She heard the mockery in his voice and stopped.   
"Matt."   
"Yes?" He stopped two steps further and turned around.   
"Valerian is not Kenny."   
"That's pretty obvious."   
"Then don’t start behaving like a kid, too. You don’t need such sideswipes." Angrily she looked at him and he sighed.   
"I'm sorry. I thought you had argued about something important, but with such trifles..."   
"It's not a trifle for him," she said softly. "He's an adult and he deserves to be treated like one. He doesn’t see that he sometimes behaves immature. That may be irritating for us, but we all have to go through that. Some earlier, others later. And as you said so well: he is important to me. And I would be glad if you give yourself a little trouble with him, at least for my sake." She didn’t say this for the first time, but apparently young men in a position of power were sometimes not the most tolerable. Matt sighed and nodded.   
"I try to keep in mind that you adopted him..."

\---

The chaos and biting stench in the lab brushed aside any thoughts of the conversation with Erynn. Stetmann was pale and had thick dark eye bags, but he looked satisfied. Matt already had a stomach ache when he only saw the Wargen model pinned to a wall. Behind them, the door opened again and Swann and Tychus entered, both smeared with oil.   
"Then we're complete." Jim remarked, standing with Valerian already waiting next to a console.  
"Yes, good." Stetmann nodded and smiled crookedly, then looked at Erynn, who gave him an encouraging smile. "Yeah, well ..." He cleared his throat. "I've discussed a few things with Erynn and we have an operation plan."   
"Oh, sure...", Tychus made half mocking, half curious; Swann growled at him.   
"Let the boy talk." Matt suppressed a sigh.   
"The normal werewolves, with the focus on the improved human form, would be perfect for the crew of a battlecruiser," said Stetmann and opened the data on the console. "Ten or twelve-hour shifts shouldn’t be a problem anymore."   
"In case of doubt, it could save our asses during a fight." Swann said and nodded in agreement. Matt shook his head inside. His crew ... werewolves? Hall, Cade, Hughes ... from the bridge to the last corner ... the faint feeling in the stomach spread and became an oppressive weight in the chest.  
"The Wargen are probably best kept by the soldiers. I've made some calculations and they'd have to survive a simple crash." Stetmann continued and changed the file. "And if a Marine runs out of ammunition..." He wagged his fingers meaningfully. Jim and Tychus nodded, then Stetmann changed the picture again and nervously ran his hand through his hair, before he said:   
"I've secured the whole thing as far as possible. Nevertheless, I cannot say what comes out of it. I did some of the calculations with my own DNA, just out of curiosity, but the program does not come further than _mammal_." He paused and then turned around. "Making one unit of serum for this third variant costs a fortune and on top of that, it will take a lot of energy to activate the metamorphosis. So I have no idea who we should give it to." _No one_ , Matt would have liked to say, but while he was still trying to overcome his horrified dislike, which he could not put into words, Valerian said:   
"I have a suggestion.” He took a dramatic pause.

"We," Valerian said, his eyes bright with enthusiasm.  
"We?" Stetmann asked with a surprised, but not disapproving squeak.  
"We," Swann said thoughtfully, but convinced.  
"We," Jim said, nodding seriously.  
"We," Tychus grinned in anticipation.  
"We," Erynn said seriously, but her face also shone with enthusiasm.  
"No," Matt said and everyone looked at him in surprise.

Pushed on the defensive, he crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.   
"No. We cannot do that. We're in charge here."   
"That's why." Valerian said a bit blankly, and Jim added, nodding:   
"If a leader demands something from his people, he must be ready to do at least the same, if not more.”   
"This is not just the question of whether they are ready to follow us into a rebellion, Jim! This is an intervention in everything that makes a person. You cannot ask anyone for anything like that." Matt retorted angrily and shook his head again. "Besides, Stetmann has no idea how the whole thing ends. If we fall apart - what next? Then it’s over with the revolution, Jim, then it’s over with the Raiders. And now don’t tell me that Hall or Vaughn would be able to keep it up, because that's not the way it is."  
"Nobody falls apart here." Tychus growled not really helpful, and Swann pragmatically spoke up:   
"I like the thing about the werewolves. In theory, I mean. And I know that my boys and girls see it the same way I do. If I don’t want to be the least of them, I have to go along with them."  
"We had the topic before," Valerian said, frowning, before Matt could speak again. "As a captain and second-in-command, you have some responsibility. It's your duty to be a outstanding example."   
_"Together to the gates of hell and beyond,"_ Jim said, and Matt bit his lip.   
"We've been stuck in the middle of hell for a long time," he said softly.   
"Yes, but together," Erynn said quietly and Matt looked up. She had her head down and smiled weakly. "We all get through this together, as a team. Like the prince and his companions in the fairy tale." She pointed to the console. "These are our totem animals."   
"This is not a fairy tale, Erynn," he said softly and Valerian shook his head.  
"I don’t think it's a good idea for you to be in."   
"Why?", She asked confused.   
"Your psi. We have no idea what it does with it. If it’s compatible. Right, Stetmann?"   
"Um..." Stetmann seemed a bit overwhelmed with the question. "I have no idea, right. There was not a single psionically gifted proband in the research reports from the project."   
"So you see why I cannot allow you to participate." Valerian picked up the thread again. "And Matt is right in one point: we need someone who can take care of it in case of an emergency. You know Vaughn and Merriman. They're good men, but old school veterans."  
" _Allow_? Excuse me, but that's my decision." Now it was up to Erynn to be upset. "Matt is right in more than one point, you know. This is voluntary and I volunteer."   
"You're my adjutant! I order you-"   
"Put your orders somewhere else!" Erynn spat. In other circumstances, Matt would have had enjoyed seeing it, just like Tychus did now with a grin, but now he watched with a frown as Erynn glared at Valerian angrily. "If you think you could give me such orders, you are wrong. I quit." Valerian's mouth opened and closed and an awkward silence spread in the lab.  
Erynn looked at each one in turn. "I'm in."  
Matt bit his lip. This was not a nice evening with Mira Han they were pushing him into. This would change his life forever- if he survived it, of which he wasn’t convinced yet. But his deep-rooted sense of duty told him he could not leave his ship, his crew, alone. And Swann was also right: could he take the lead as the least? And if not, what would he do? Leave the Raiders? An uncomfortable feeling spread through his head, then Erynn whispered:   
_"Matt."_ He looked up at her. _"We do this together. You, me, the others. We fight together."  
"I'm not a fighter,"_ he thought, hoping it would reach her.  
" _No,"_ she replied, _"but a brilliant tactician and commander. The Hyperion needs you. The Raiders need you."_ She hesitated. _"And I... I wish we would be in together."_ Matt was well aware of the tense silence as he sighed.

"I cannot do this. I'm sorry, but I ... I sacrificed everything for the Raiders, but I'm not ready to throw away my whole self for this idea." Erynn looked deeply disappointed, Jim simply surprised. Slowly he took a stance and nodded to Jim. "I will continue to command the Hyperion for you, but as second-in-command I will resign."


	10. Prepare the injection, Doc

Erynn's hands shook as she entered her bedroom. One fleeting touch of the psi had been enough to reveal Matt's feelings. He was afraid. Afraid to lose control of himself and do _things_ when he became one of those _monsters_. And it was her fault, the fault of the psi.  
They had been twelve, waiting for Matt's mother to pick them up after the cinema. He had seen her car and was about to cross the street when, almost out of nowhere, another car came and hit him. He had screamed more out of surprise than pain, but something had exploded in Erynn- the hitherto undiscovered psi had burst out, knocking the car aside. Fortunately, the driver was only slightly injured, but Erynn was still worried that it might happen again. And Matt was afraid of driving. She briefly wondered if he'd ever had the courage to get a driver's license, but probably not. Fortunately, her psi was tech-oriented and so the only things that took damage over the years were various household devices. But she'd heard stories during her training and shared them with Matt, and she could understand what he was feeling. Still, she was scared.  
Erynn dropped to her bed and took a deep breath before reaching for the water bottle on the bedside table. She missed it and pushed it instead- fortunately it was sealed- but to make it worse, the bottle caught the turquoise little box on the bedside table as it fell, and it fell to the ground as well. Of course, the cover popped open and her most valuable material memories rolled around. With a sigh, she knelt on the floor and gathered everything when her eyes fell on an envelope. She had packed the box before leaving home for her adjutant training and hadn’t opened it since; to see it was enough to give her security. But she didn’t know that envelope. Carefully she put the box back on the bedside table and then sat down with the envelope on the bed. _Erynn_ was written in front, in the handwriting of her mother. There were photos in it and Erynn looked at them for a long time, one after one, fading into memories.

"You look a lot like her." Valerian's voice cut the silence abruptly and she looked up. He stood in front of her holding one of the photos in his hand. An almost shy smile was on his face before he reluctantly sat down on the other side of the discarded photos. He held a wedding photograph of her parents, and before she thought about what to say, he asked:   
"How old were your parents?"   
"Twenty-four," she answered automatically. "I was born a year later." He nodded slowly and reached for another picture, this time her own wedding photo. A little confused, she watched Valerian, who curiously and shyly at the same time studied the depicted couple. To her surprise, he didn’t comment, but took another; it showed her and her dad eating ice cream in a shopping mall just before he was diagnosed. The next was with hers and Matt's mother at some garden party.  
The next one showed her and Matt. They both leaned against a car in their royal blue school uniform and grinned at each other over the display of Erynn's phone.   
"How old are you?" Valerian asked softly.   
"Sixteen, I think. That's Kenny's car in the school parking lot, we've had to wait for him a lot," she answered just as softly. Valerian smiled weakly.   
"Matt is really chubby. And yet the brothers look pretty much alike."   
"Obvious." She nodded and he took the next photo.   
"What are you doing?", He wanted to know amused.   
"Tie Matt's tie," she said, as if it was clear and would not look like she was going to strangle him in evening attire. "It's the high school prom and Kenny refused to help his little brother." Valerian chuckled.   
"I'm glad I don’t like ties." She shrugged and he grinned crookedly before carefully arranging the photos and asking softly:   
"Do you love Matt?" Seriously she looked at him.  
"As much as I can love a best friend and quasi-brother." He nodded, but across his face flitted a sad expression; he had neither one nor the other.  
"Why did you want to sleep with him then?" The question caught her off guard and she blinked irritably for a moment before transferring the pictures from his hand and putting them back in the envelope.   
"In the beginning, it was probably the idea that we shared everything and that we could share this first experience as well. A little childish, I know." She shrugged slightly. "Later it was simply curiosity. Except for this one point I knew everything about him and I would have loved to hear how he treated a girl ... privately..."   
"Did you ever tell him?"   
"For God's sake! No, of course not. That would have just been embarrassing." Shaking her head, she looked at Valerian. "Such curious thoughts come to me mostly every time I know a man for a while." Her cheeks got warm under his amused look, but to her relief he didn’t comment on it.  
Instead, he wanted to know: "What does the man of your dreams look like?" She stared at him in surprise, wondering for a moment what he was looking for, but in fact he just seemed ... curious.   
"I don’t know," she said slowly.   
"So it was not Kenny?" She shook her head.   
"I don’t know if I have any idea about it at all. I used to think that men with long hair looked awful, but I admit I like your hair a lot."   
"Really?" He looked pleased and with a smile she nodded.   
"Really." With a quick movement, he pulled out the hair band and put it in his pocket while he smiled crookedly at her. His hair didn’t quite fall on his shoulders and some strands caressed his face. He was damn cute and she had to hold back so as not to play with his hair.  
"You know..." he began then, "since you got your best friend back, you have changed."   
"To what extent?", She asked frowning and he made an indefinite gesture before answering.   
"You are more relaxed. Less serious and closed. Cheerful. Happy."   
"And why do you now behave in public as if I've done something to you?" She asked, actually curious for the answer.   
"Because I don’t know how to handle it," he finally admitted. "The Raiders are all so awfully relaxed and informal and you kind of fit in seamlessly. I feel so... gratuitous. Like an outsider." Instead of looking at her, he examined his fingernails. Actually, she would have liked to tell him to be just himself, but she knew he didn’t know who or what he was at the moment.  
"You are an outsider. You're the son of the man everyone here hates," she said softly. "I know, it’s not your fault, but give them a little time to realize that you are not the extension of his will. And in the meantime, try to figure out who you are and who you want to be." He was silent for a moment, then sighed deeply.   
"I wish it was easier."   
"Nobody said it would be easy to grow up," she replied and he rolled his eyes.   
"Yeah, yeah... your four-and-a-half years more make you soooo experienced."   
"Valerian..."   
"Hmm?"   
"That was childish." He sighed and rolled his eyes again.   
"And if I just kiss you now, until you forget the conversation?" She chuckled.   
"Doesn’t work."   
"Why not?"   
"You're not that stunning." He grunted, but his eyes sparkled playfully.   
"Take that back!"   
"Never!" She grinned broadly, trying to dodge him as he reached for her, but he caught her anyway, pulled her close and kissed her passionately.  
But unlike usual, his mouth stayed on hers and his hands simply held her in a gentle hug. Still, she melted away, wishing he didn’t just kiss her, but she'd never taken the initiative in their relationship, and wouldn’t start it, as much as she wanted him right now.   
"Damn..." he mumbled softly.   
"Hmm?"   
"I'd love to kiss every inch of your skin."   
"Why don’t you do it?" She demanded; she liked the idea very much and the heat between her legs called for a few kisses.   
"No," he said simply and broke away from her. He stood up and confused, downright disappointed, she was watching him go to the door.  
To her surprise, he switched off the light. Then she heard a rustle, two dull noises, and realized he was undressing. A smile crept on her face and she also began to undress. Then he sat down on the bed and gently touched her bare waist.   
"Do you want to sleep like that?" He whispered.   
"Sleep?" She asked confused.   
"Yes."   
"You don’t want to ...?"   
"No." She blinked in the darkness and let him pull her into the pillows. His hair tickled her face as he leaned over her and kissed her tenderly.   
"We’ve never spent the night together," she whispered.   
"Then we can just start now. You're mine, after all." His last words sounded playful, but in an almost forced manner, as if he wanted to take away the sharp undertone. Insecure she let her hand slide over his back while he kissed her again very softly. He was still wearing his underpants, and when she touched the hard front, he whispered:   
"Don’t. I just want to kiss you." Suddenly she lost all desire for it. When he had confessed to her after their first kiss that this was his _very first_ kiss, she had feared he would fall in love with her- inexperienced as he was- if he continued to play this game. And now she had to pull herself together so as not to look in his head at what was going on there.

\---  
  
Jessica Hall sat at a table with Markus Cade and Jeremy Hughes, watching her captain getting drunk at the bar. This was so untypical that she finally asked the two men:   
"What do you think, was his resignation voluntary or not?" Markus half turned and then shrugged.   
"If so, there must be something cooking. And _that_ there's something cooking is obvious."   
"Well," Jeremy said as well with a shrug, "invite him to our table and ask him." She looked over at Horner again - she didn’t dare, even in her thoughts, to call him _Matt_ out of fear it might slip in a careless moment- and sighed before getting up.   
"Decide who asks him this question if I shall get him over," she said, joining Horner.  
"Good evening, Captain..." He looked up, irritated.   
"Hall. What's up?" That was one point why the crew loved him so much. No matter what time, no matter how he was - he was always there for them, no matter what problem.   
"You look like you need a little company and there's a free seat at our table," she said, smiling carefully at him. He turned half around, saw Jeremy and Markus lifting their glasses in greeting and seemed genuinely surprised by this invitation.   
"Okay..." he said slowly and stood up. Visibly trying not to waver, she led him to the table and he nodded in greeting as he dropped heavily onto a chair. Jessica sat down too. But instead of tackling the topic directly, Jeremy diplomatically started with a bit of small talk and, meanwhile, she realized that she had never seen Horner so drunk. Normally Commander Raynor was responsible for drinking.

"What about the rumor that-"   
"Captain!" Egon interrupted Markus and put his glass down so swiftly that the content spilled over. Jessica jerked back and Horner looked up, confused. "You have to get a child."   
"What?" They all did at once. Egon pulled out his datapad and held it under Horner's nose.   
"You have to go there and-"   
"This is a fertility clinic." Horner stumbled over the words. "Stetmann, I'm a man and single, what the hell do you want?"   
"Yeah, but you and Erynn have the same last name and are our chance to get in there without a fight." Egon said excitedly and Jessica guessed badly as Horner's expression darkened.   
"Egon, I think our captain had a drink too much for the topic," she said carefully and Horner shook his head.   
"There are at least two more missing for that kind of topic." He got up and trudged back to the bar.  
"Bu-but..." Egon looked after him uncertainly.   
"That looks like a big faux pas," Markus commented dryly and Jeremy nodded to Egon.   
"Sit down." Egon dropped onto the now vacant chair.   
"You got that Erynn is his sister-in-law, yes?", Markus wanted to know and Egon nodded.   
"Yes, that's why-"   
"No, let me finish. Who tells you that she and her husband didn’t try to have a baby before becoming a widow?"   
"Or maybe he cannot even have a child himself," Jeremy added. Jessica gently patted Egon's hand.   
"That's a terribly sensitive topic."   
"... I understand ..." Egon said slowly and cleared his throat. "I should apologize to him."   
"Not now. Let him sober up tomorrow morning, or he'll end up saying things he'd rather not say." Markus shook his head and Jessica glanced over at the captain. Something had thrown him badly and she would have liked to know what it was. But she didn’t dare asking for it and so she sighed in her drink.

\---

"No!" Erynn said firmly, shaking her head.   
"You're not a ghost!" Valerian said with equal determination. "I know you can take care of yourself, but you're not trained for such missions."   
"We're talking about a private clinic, not a high-security lab!" She hissed back. Egon had stumbled across the information that the most expensive item on his ingredient list could be replaced by something that was present in every lab working with embryos. Unfortunately, he also had the idea to send there Erynn and Matt as a couple and therefore they just discussed the plan in the small office next to the bridge.  
"Still, it's easier to stay there legally and then go underground!" Valerian said angrily. Erynn growled at him.   
"For that we would need an appointment and papers-"   
"We can prepare."   
"- and until I could sneak away, we would have to answer unpleasant questions and let ourselves be checked from head to toe."   
"Would it be so bad?”   
"Do you have any idea what those questions are?" She hissed, glaring at him coldly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Matt and Raynor looking uneasy.  
"No," Valerian admitted. "But it cannot be that bad."   
"It's humiliating and shameful!"   
"It's just fake!"   
"I wouldn’t have a problem with accompanying you." Matt put in softly.   
"I don’t give a fuck about you having a problem with it or not! But _I_ have a problem with it!" Erynn realized she was getting loud. "I don’t want to answer such questions! I don’t want to make up a sad story! I..." She took a deep breath. "How many babies do you think I’ve lost?" She asked Valerian coldly, glancing at a suddenly very pale Matt and back again. "Three? More? Do you know what that means for a woman? Or would you prefer that Matt pretends not to be able to father children? What's more dramatic?" Valerian opened his mouth, but she ignored it. "You have no idea about such things, so _stay out of it!"_ The last words she literally screamed and tears came to her eyes.  
"Erynn..." Matt said cautiously, but she pushed his hand away.   
"Don’t touch me!" Strong arms closed around her from behind. "Let me go!" Her voice was almost a shriek.   
"No, darling, first you calm down!" Raynor said firmly, hugging her tightly. "Swann takes amiss when you break the interior of the Hyperion and your psi is just going crazy."   
"Let me _go!_ " She knew he was right, and if he could feel it, it would be dangerous but she could not think that far at this moment.  
"Erynn, please!" Matt asked urgently. She didn’t see much through a tear-streak, but she heard something vibrating. "You have no reason to feel attacked." An electric humming underlined his words. "If you don’t want to, you don’t want to, okay, but a ghost doesn’t lose control!" Matching up at his last word, sparks flashed with a hiss and suddenly she felt very small and vulnerable. Matt caressed her cheek, and Raynor let her go so she could nestle in Matt's arms.   
"Come on, junior. Our quasi-ghost needs a moment," the commander said softly and Erynn sniffled.  
"I'm sorry," she murmured as the door closed behind them.   
"You don’t have to be sorry." Matt said quietly. "Valerian doesn’t know about it and has probably never thought about such things."   
"Yeah, but I shouldn’t have yelled at him like that."   
"He was damn insensitive." She sighed and sighed a second time as she leaned back and looked at Matt's critical expression. Then she lowered her eyes and wiped her cheeks awkwardly.   
"I would like to be alone for a moment," she said.   
"Sure..." He nodded and after a moment's hesitation he left the office. She dropped onto a chair and buried her face in her hands.

\---  
  
Matt shot Valerian a glare, who was standing with Jim beside the star map. For a moment he had a nice threat on his tongue, but he swallowed it. Sensitive topic or not, but Valerian really hadn’t been able to know how much it would get under her skin. However, suddenly he was struck by the realization that he already could have a niece who went to school happily so hard, that he had to hold onto the star map and take a deep breath. Fate seemed a miserable traitor to him.  
When no one said anything, Matt finally asked:   
"Orders, Commander?"   
"Take us to the planet, Stetmann must have already sent the coordinates."   
"Of course, sir." Matt replied, ignoring Jim's questioning look. "Navigator, set course!"   
"Very well, Captain!" Cade called back and Jim sighed softly.   
"I'll go and see that I find somewhere one of those damn Spectre suits with Swann." Matt nodded simply. When Jim left the bridge, Valerian muttered softly:   
"I'm really sorry. I didn’t realize how much..." He licked his lips uneasily and didn’t seem to find the right words.  
"Two things," Matt said just as softly. "First, even though Erynn lives for her job, she is still a private person and had a life before she came to your side, and second, we all have our weak points." Valerian nodded slowly and was smart enough not to comment or even ask questions. Matt looked at him and stifled a sigh.   
"Go and see that you find a five-star platinum excuse." The second part, which began with _otherwise_ , remained unspoken, but Matt knew Valerian knew there was one. Still, Matt got an angry look before the Rebel Prince turned around and fortunately stalked away without another discussion that would have been embarrassing. Matt sent a message to Swann telling him to drop in a technician, then went back to the adjoining office.  
Erynn sat in a chair like a picture of misery and raised her head.   
"Talk to me," Matt said softly. When she lowered her eyes to her hands and remained silent, he squatted in front of her and gently touched her wrist. "This is about more than just Kenny's baby." It was more statement than question and she nodded.   
"We'll talk about it when the mission is over," she said softly, and now it was time for him to nod.

\---

Stetmann had asked her to bring as much of the stuff with an unspeakable name as possible. Because everything he didn’t need himself, they could sell at horrendous prices on the black market. Erynn thought of that strange conversation as she sat in the cloaked plane that was about to land.  
_"Ready for the mission, Agent?"_ Matt sounded eerily serious.   
"Yes, Captain," she answered with a faint smile.   
_"Very well. I know you looked at the plans of the clinic, but I'll lead you anyway."_   
"You don’t have to." He was silent for a moment.   
_"This is how it works here with the Raiders. No one’s left alone."_   
"I'm not a raider," she said softly, getting out of her seat as the door of the plane slid open.   
"Good luck," the pilot called to her, then she jumped down into the lush green grass.  
The clinic had nothing of a hospital, but looked like a large villa, surrounded by a park-like garden, demarcated from the meadows on the outskirts by a seemingly ridiculous wall. She climbed it without much effort and let herself slip on the other side carefully on the accurately trimmed lawn.  
_"I know you're not a raider. But you would be pretty good."_ Matt picked up the thread again. She sighed.   
"I'm Valerian's adjutant and I'll stay that way."   
_"Why?"_   
"Why what?"   
_"Why are you staying?"_ She frowned and started walking. Fortunately, the path that cut through the lawn and went along flowerbeds only looked like it was made of pebbles; so, it couldn’t crunch under her boots.  
"Why shouldn’t I? I've been trained to be an adjutant. And I like my job."   
_"Probably very satisfying,"_ he murmured dryly and she rolled her eyes.   
"There are a lot of women on your ship who would sacrifice more than a little finger to get into bed with you. Now, shut up and focus on the mission." She could imagine him turning bright red and maybe even giving Hall a quick look. With a smile she shook her head and overcame the remaining distance to the side entrance of the clinic.  
There were two men smoking.   
"Did you hear, it was Charly," one of them said after a long puff.   
"I cannot imagine," said the other. Cautiously, Erynn pushed past them, the smoke could expose the shimmer of her suit.   
"Not? Me, yes. He's always complaining that we're so underpaid."   
"Underpaid? What's the guy's idea?" In the conversation, the side door opened and an elderly woman looked critically at the men.   
"Gossiping again?" Erynn squeezed past her and was glad she didn’t carry the Ghost-style rifle on her back. She had kept to more minimalist arming.  
_"The storerooms are in the second sub-level. On the left there is a staircase, on the right a cargo elevator."_ Matt said and sounded exerted neutral. But from the left, several voices were to hear and she turned to the right. The way opened into a slightly larger room that looked like a transshipment point. A young woman and a gray-haired, but young-looking man were loading the aforementioned elevator, which hung in a grid duct and was bounded laterally only by a wide mesh.  
"That must go in storage room five," said the man, writing a large number on a box with a squealing pen before pushing it inside the elevator. Erynn waited until he had turned away, then slipped into the loosely fitted elevator.   
"Since when five?", the woman wanted to know confused.   
"Well, in the three there was an incident with the cooling system and now the sensitive stuff is in the five."   
"But that's completely impractical!" Protested the woman, but the man just shrugged and pushed a button, whereupon the elevator started moving.  
To Erynns luck he passed the first basement and stopped in the second. She took a few quick steps and almost collided with a man who suddenly stepped out from behind a tall shelf. With difficulty, she stifled a sharp inhalation and turned to the side at the last moment.   
_"There are six storerooms down there."_ Matt reported, though she already knew.   
_"The rooms one and two are uncooled, the six is frozen. Remaining three, four and five. They're right across from the elevator."_ She turned her head and nodded to herself; the heavy steel doors were labeled with bright red numbers. To make it even easier, there was a long list on the wall with information on where to find what substance. She quickly went through the alphabetical names, one more inexpressible than the other, until she found the right one. Storage room 4, cooling unit 2, shelf b.  
It was a breeze. Accurate inscriptions, embarrassing order - the wanted was found in small bottles and four of them fit in the small belt bag Erynn wore.   
"I'm on my way back.", She murmured barely audible.   
_"Good,"_ Matt said simply. But when she left the storage room, she paused. The elevator was blocked by the man who calmly removed the boxes from the cabin, and when she reached the stairs, two men stood in front of the narrow steps, arguing aggressively with lowered voices.   
"I will not cover you again! That could cost us more than just the job!", One hissed and the other hissed back:   
"You're just scared, admit it. But with the money you could get Jenny finally-"   
"Keep my wife out of it!" The first man grabbed the second by the collar and Erynn took the opportunity to slip past them. The suppressed voices echoed in the stairway, but then she reached the ground floor and turned back to the side door.  
However, this was both sides to open only with a passport and Erynn bit her lip.   
_"What's going on?"_ Matt wanted to know.   
"The door.", She mumbled in a flat voice an answer and carefully reached out her psi.   
_"There is another side entrance,"_ Matt informed her after a moment. _"But… it’s also for special... guests..."_ She growled briefly and frowned. The door was not directly secured against psionic activity, but would trigger an alarm. Fuck it, she had neither the time nor the desire to wait for one of the employees to take a cigarette break. So she literally opened the door with psionic vehemence and even before she had stepped through the doorway, a bright alarm rang.   
_"Erynn?"_   
"Not now." In a mixture of fear for the unknown and excitement about the challenge, she expected all sorts of things, but it didn’t happen nothing as she ran along the path to the wall, pulled herself up and dropped on the other side. Only a few hectic, scared voices echoed over the alarm.  
Was it really that easy? She could hardly believe it.

\---

"We're on the flight.", the pilot, who chauffeured Erynn, reported, and Matt took off the small headset.   
"I'll pick up the cargo directly," Stetmann, who had been out of curiosity on the bridge, announced, and hurried away.   
"As soon as the aircraft is safely in the landing bay, we move to open space," said Jim.   
"Very well, Commander." Matt said and nodded. Jim also left the bridge and Matt finally took his eyes off the terminal and hit Hall directly. Except for him, Stetmann, Jim and Valerian, no one had heard Erynn, but Matt blushed anyway, knowing that Erynn had meant Hall as well with her remark. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Valerian was looking at him and finally nodding at him clearly.   
"Hall, you've heard the Commander."   
"Yes, Captain." Hall nodded and Matt left the bridge with Valerian.

"Could it be...", Valerian began slowly, "that you are somehow jealous?"   
"Jealous? 'Bout what?" Matt asked back, looking up at Valerian.   
"My relationship with Erynn." Matt blinked irritably for a moment, then shook his head, smiling.   
"Erynn is my best friend, that's all I want from her. And for emotionless affairs, I have no love."   
"And then why do you distribute with nice regularity sideswipes in my direction?" Valerian wanted  to know with an annoyed undertone.  
"Don’t take it so personally. That's more of a thing between her and me." Matt tried not to grin stupidly and shrugged. "Guess what I had to listen to at school because I didn’t have a girlfriend." Valerian looked at him skeptically. "What you two do is your business," Matt added.   
"But why..." Valerian searched for words.   
"Why what?" Matt had no intention of helping him.   
"Why did it bother you so much that she mentioned those women?"   
Matt sighed. "Because I would rather ignore that certain women adore me. I don’t like that. In addition, Erynn has no problem with one-night stands and affairs - and I have. But I don’t have the time, the nerves and the right woman for a relationship."   
"So you're frustrated." That was a statement on Valerian's part that probably could not be shaken.  
Matt rolled his eyes, also as not to have to think about it. "Why am I letting myself get interrogated here?"   
"I ... sorry. I didn’t want to... I just want to understand your relationship. And you." Suddenly, Valerian was not half as self-confident as he had been five minutes earlier.   
"Why so?" The outcast Prince sighed deeply and said softly:   
"We both know I have no friends. And I also don’t have a big brother, or even a father, to help me find my place in the world or understand such things." Matt realized that he had never considered this point. But Valerian was right and so he sighed too.  
"I'm not going to interfere in the matter between Erynn and you." It occurred to him that Erynn had compared Valerian to a little brother, and she probably was not quite that wrong. "I certainly don’t adopt you, but before you take any dubious advice from Tychus to heart..." He held out his hand to Valerian.   
"Friends?" Valerian asked carefully and reached for it. _What am I doing just for you…?_ , Matt thought to Erynn and nodded.   
"Friends."

\---

As Matt entered Erynn's bedroom, she was folding the Spectre suit. She looked up and smiled weakly.   
"They are pretty comfortable, but I feel also pretty naked in it." Matt chuckled.   
"At least you're a beautiful sight in such a skin-tight suit." Her smile grew for a moment, then collapsed.  
Almost carefully, she put the suit on a dresser and then clung to it, before softly asking: "Have you ever thought about children?"   
"Not really," he admitted. "I have somewhere in the back of my mind the idea of someday having a family, but for real...? No."   
"Right now I'm wondering if I'll ever have any," she said, becoming even quieter.   
"Why not?", He wanted to know carefully.  
For a long moment she remained silent.   
"I aborted two babies. Psionically." Surprised, he looked at her and she rubbed her eyes with trembling fingers. "You know ... the psi has a negative effect on a woman's cycle. The stronger the psi, the stronger the effect. My psi is relatively weak and yet the whole thing is ... well, _irregular_ is a nice understatement." Her face was full of pain. "When I realized for the first time that something was wrong... I panicked. And it was not until much later that I realized what I had done."  
Matt didn’t wish for the first time that Erynn had a female best friend to talk about such things. Not because he didn’t want to be there for her, but because he felt rather inadequate as a man and a comforting embrace- his first instinct- was a little out of place.  
"Would you have wanted it?", He wanted to know softly and hoped that the question was not completely inappropriate.   
"At sixteen? Definitely not." Tormented, she shook her head and chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "The second time ...", she began then, "was simply selfish. There was no reason against it apart my own interests. And when I see how many couples fight for years-"   
"Don’t even start with it!" Matt interrupted her sternly, but now went to hug her. "It's _your_ body, _your_ life and _your_ decision. _Nobody_ can talk you out or into it, _no one_. Not even the genitor."  
He felt her psi puffing up, pulling her tighter and burying her face against his shoulder.   
"He would-"   
"I don’t want to know who it was," he interrupted again.   
"Not even if it was you?" Irritated, he frowned.   
"Did I miss something?"   
"No, I'm just asking..." He snorted.   
"No. Especially not in that case. I don’t want this whole what-could-have-been mind-mess. Not for me and not in place for another one." She made a sound that might have been a laugh, and he said softly: "Erynn, it's not up to anyone to judge. Nobody can look inside you and understand what you think and feel. You don’t have to give anyone a justification."   
"But... but I feel so bad. So _guilty_. The child could have had a wonderful life and-" She sniffed and her voice was distorted.   
"Erynn." Slowly he rubbed her back. After her breakout with Valerian, she was surprisingly calm and Matt could imagine that she had already thought it through plenty of times; although he admittedly had almost expected to find a crying picture of misery.  
"Even if you regret it, you cannot change it now."   
"I feel awful," she finally said.   
"Yeah, I got that." Matt mumbled into her hair. "But that doesn’t help."   
"I know, but I cannot change my feelings."   
"No one said that you should. And you can always talk to me, about everything." He kissed her on the forehead.   
"Thanks." She sniffed. "I should have told someone about this much sooner."   
"You just dragged it around with you all these years?" He asked in disbelief and she nodded in a daze. "You know, I think we could both get a drink now."

\---

Valerian sat with a much-praised Mai Tai from bartender Cooper in the bar along with Tychus and Raynor. Well, it was already the second, but he had to get used to the taste first, and when he compared how much the Raiders around him drank, a second drink was not worth mentioning. But he could not really concentrate on his drink anyway, because his eyes kept wandering to Erynn. She and Matt had come in together, throwing each other a strange look, and sat down at different tables. Matt was sitting with a bunch of male officers, Erynn with a round of female officers. What disturbed Valerian most of all: the two drank. Not just a cozy drink after work, but quite consciously, and he did not like it at all.

"Tell me, junior, where do you actually know Mira Han from?", Raynor wanted to know then out of nowhere.   
"Oh... well..." Valerian grinned crookedly. "Mira’s Marauders sold a few things I wanted. Erynn evidently befriended her within five minutes while they were negotiating, and then we had contact now and then, just for those things. However, I didn’t realize she was anything more than a simple mercenary."   
"Most are not aware of it." Raynor said, grinning as well.  
"What's up between Matt and Mira?" Valerian asked in return. Raynor began to laugh heartily and Tychus raised an eyebrow in question. Apparently, he didn’t know the story either.  
"Mira hosted a poker tournament and made a big secret about the prize. Matt didn’t really want to join in, but she kept ensnaring him until he got in." At the memory, Raynor's eyes lit up with amusement.  
"The tournament took three days and I'll bet she got him into her bed at least once." Tychus looked as if he could not quite believe it, and Valerian guessed why Matt preferred to stay out of the way.  
"Anyway ... in the end, there were only Matt and another young man in the contest." Raynor cleared his throat and sipped his drink. "I don’t know why, but Matt got out. Probably a damn good gut feeling, even though he would have won with his two-of-a-kind."   
"Now don’t put us on the rack, Jimmy, what was the price?" Tychus growled cheerfully.  
"Mira herself."   
Valerian frowned. "Isn’t it a bit silly?"   
Raynor shrugged with a grin. "The other poor guy suddenly had a wife. Mira got a little tantrum when the Raiders disappeared and then gave Matt a few very clear points of contact when her husband disappeared after a few months." Tychus snorted and Valerian shook his head in disbelief.   
"Mira Han is obviously a sly old dog."   
"You can say that aloud," Raynor agreed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Matt leave the bar while Tychus grunted:   
"To be able to survive in Deadman's Port you have to know every trick in the book. I mean, shit, you cannot throw a cat without hitting a whore."   
"Now, don’t exaggerate," Raynor replied, and the two of them began to bicker. Valerian slowly emptied his Mai Tai, half listening to the two, and looked at Erynn as she chatted cheerfully. When she got up, he too got up, and as if by chance they left the bar together.

The whole way they were silent, but it was a pleasant silence. When the door to Valerian's office closed behind them, he was about to say something, but her hand on his arm stopped him.  
"What ...?" He looked down at her, but his question died on his lips as she reached up with her other hand and pulled him down to kiss him. She had never kissed him like that before, so demanding, so wild. He looked at her a little breathlessly, her red eyes, her pale face with flushed cheeks; her hand on his cheek quivered slightly. She was drunk.  
Still, he willingly kissed her and pulled off his shirt as she pushed it up, running her fingertips gently over his skin. Her hands slid over his chest, his back, his front, and hung on his belt; she kept kissing him as she opened the belt, unbuttoned the trousers and then slowly and carefully pulled down his pants and underpants. He was not yet fully aroused, but that changed almost instantaneously, as her lips caressed his cheek and then her tongue tip painted small vertebrae on his neck, over the shoulder to the little hollow between the collarbones.  
She had never done that before, and over a surprised gasp as she kneaded his nipples- one with her fingers and the other with her mouth- he realized that he was suddenly on the other side of desire. And then she knelt in front of him and her tongue tip, which had just turned a cheeky round around his navel, now danced the full length of his penis, up to the tip and the small slit. He moaned softly as her mouth closed around the tip, then gasped as she sucked on it gently. As demanding and dominant as he was, he was also inexperienced, so he always shied away from asking her to do so. But now...  
He could not think clearly and when she straightened up and whispered with a mischievous grin, "but this was just the beginning", he followed his desire. For a moment they were a chaotic heap of flying clothes and greedy kisses before they stumbled into his bed. With a giggle, she pulled him close to her, atop of her, buried her fingers in his hair and wrapped a leg around him. She didn’t want him in response to his own desire, but for her own one.  
She made a pleasant sound as he kneaded her breasts and tenderly nibbled her lip while kissing. If she wanted him, she should have him. But then he hesitated, letting his mouth and hands slide over her body until his tongue touched her sacred grounds for the first time. Seconds later, he wondered why the poems he loved always sounded like this oral gambling was the finest in the world- he thought it was a little disgusting and somehow humiliating. He was revising the second point when he realized through all the sweet sounds Erynn made that she was completely at his mercy. With a smile he straightened up and wiped his mouth and chin before slipping over her predatorously.  
Then she opened her eyes and smiled- and he realized that he was by no means the predator. Here and now he was the prey.

\---

With a sigh of relief, Matt straightened and relaxed a bit. Slowly, the Hyperion slid side-by-side with the Bucephalus into the open space and left the supply station behind. It was a fortunate coincidence that the station official was an old acquaintance of Jim, so they didn’t need to fear being betrayed to the Dominion. However, the station wasn’t the youngest and the only two docking bays large enough for battlecruisers were made for older and smaller classes. Vaughn had connected the autopilot with the station's guidance system, but Matt had insisted on piloting the Hyperion himself. He also had his pride after all. Tychus had then made a mocking remark about Matt's flair, but before he could answer to it, Swann- who was on the bridge for supply lists- had intervened and pointed out to Tychus that any lady- whether a ship or a woman- would deserve flair and discretion and that the Captain was obviously shining in both disciplines.  
Fortunately, when they left the station after refilling supplies and meeting a black market merchant, such remarks had been spared to him.  
"Calculate coordinates in open space where we can wait without being disturbed. Tell Captain Vaughn and prepare everything for the warp jump," Matt ordered, rubbing his temple. "Very well, sir.", It sounded from various officers. Behind him, the door hissed open.  
"Captain Horner, would you be so nice and come with me?" Irritated, Matt turned around and saw a very serious-looking Erynn standing in the doorway. After resigning from second-in-command, she was ranked above him and so he nodded as seriously.   
"Of course, Lieutenant General. Hall?"   
"We have everything under control, sir." Hall said quickly and Matt left the bridge with Erynn.  
"Why so formal?", He wanted to know, as they both walked stiffly through the long corridors. She gave him a quick sidelong glance. "I understand. I will not like what you have to tell me.", He stated and she indicated a shake of the head.   
"No."

His discomfort did not diminish when he realized that they were not going to the lab, but to the med-bay. The others were already present, in addition to Lily Preston, who was preparing something in the background. Matt's stomach slid down his knees. Stetmann looked as nervous as Tychus was calm, Swann had a neutral countenance, and Valerian seemed resolute. Jim gave him an apologetic smile.  
"We made a decision, Matt."   
"Which one?" Preston carefully pushed past the group and took from a cupboard a small tray on which stood seven ampoules, in which it shimmered silvery. Nobody said anything and it was answer enough. Matt felt helpless horror; they had made the decision over his head, contrary to his protest.  
"For the crew this should be... first level," he said after a quick glance to Preston. "I am a crew member. Just like Swann." It didn’t even bother him that his voice told how shaken he was.   
"No, boy," Swann shook his head, "we're more than crew. We keep it all running."   
"You're part of the Hyperion Council," Stetmann added uneasily.   
"I'm sorry to say so, but anyone who is not ready to follow us will have to leave." Valerian was tough, ready to make the uncomfortable decisions.   
"Commander..." It was almost a plea, but Jim shook his head slightly. Tychus crossed his arms over his chest and just waited while Erynn deliberately didn’t look at him.  
Leave the Raiders...? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His reputation as a steadfast captain had been severely strained lately, but he was definitely shaken. But in all this chaos, new things formed; not only challenges, but also good things - so he hoped at least. He took another deep breath. His sense of duty, his sense of honor, his pride would force him to do so as well as the others did. And he would never forgive himself if he left Erynn alone.  
He sighed deeply, clasped his hands behind his back to hide them trembling and nodded slowly before opening his eyes again.   
"Preston, get started." Valerian's voice sounded even sharper than it was after the moment of silence. Preston nodded and pulled a curtain in front of a couch.   
"Mr. Findlay, please take off your top clothes and sit down." Tychus nodded.   
"Sure, sweetie." Preston rolled her eyes. There was a cold silence except for the doctor who gave instructions.  
After Tychus it was Jim’s, Swann’s and Stetmann's turn, then Erynn and Valerian. While the others left the med-bay, Erynn was waiting beside Matt, though she was still avoiding his gaze.   
"Captain, it's your turn." Emotionless, Matt stepped behind the curtain and pulled off his jacket, sweater and shirt before sitting down on the couch. Preston wiped his lower back, just above his hip, and gently, but firmly, pushed him forward with one hand between his shoulder blades.   
"Attention," she said softly. He felt her gloved hands and then an unpleasant puncture. Although the ampoules had been small, the injection seemed to last forever.  
Eventually, she pulled back the needle and pasted a patch on it, which was sucked tightly to the skin.   
"That's it." Matt nodded curtly, slipped off the couch and dressed. As he stepped out from behind the curtain, Erynn stood there, looking as if she wanted to burst into tears. He fought down the impulse of comforting her and gave her a curt nod.   
"Matt," she said softly. "I am sorry. The others were pretty bogged down in their opinion and... admittedly, the thought of destroying the symbolism behind made me nervous."   
"So the symbolism is more important to you than my opinion?" He asked coolly and went to the door.   
"No, of course not," she said quickly. "I just wanted..." She let out a strangled sound.  
"This is not about symbolism, nor about the Raiders or anything else. It's all about us as individuals with a free will." He said harshly.   
"I know you're scared, Matt. You're not a control freak but despite that, you're scared to lose control. I know that feeling. But whatever comes our way, we can learn to handle it."   
"Just like you permanently control your psi?" He shot back. That was unfair, but right now he didn’t feel like playing fair. He had hit, because she owed him a reply.  
When he reached the door and it slid open, he paused. Actually, he wanted to say something and not let this disaster just stand there between them, but he was too angry, too disappointed, too stunned. The uneasy tickling in his head made him wince, but when Erynn said nothing, the anger flared even further. She had sworn to him to never read his thoughts- and now she did it anyway. A small part of him was glad she realized that way that he couldn’t really be mad with her until the end of her life, but the rest of him screamed at her _traitor_ , along with all the maelstrom of emotions raging in him.  
She breathlessly whispered:   
"I love you." And for the very first time, he just said:   
"I know."


	11. Project Bloodmoon - the first transformation

Eighteen hours after the serum had been injected, seven battered subjects stood on the Hyperion Bridge, looking with mixed emotions at the large main screen. If she had felt better, Erynn would have been swept away by the memories the steel-gray complex on the yellow-gray mini-planet awoke in her, but the side effects had been getting worse for almost eight hours, and she was beginning to wonder why she was still standing upright.  
Her whole body ached, her head pounded and her ears roared as colorful flashes danced in front of her eyes. Egon, who had forbidden them painkillers and anything that might hinder their metamorphosis, seemed to be the one to suffer the most; at least as far as it was about the pain. Because they also had a fever, Egon had thrown in, that it could also be a natural increase in body core temperature. When Erynn looked at Tychus, who was standing next to her sweaty, sticky and smelling a bit nasty, she didn’t really care about the reason. Raynor shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other and tried to keep his face under control, which didn’t quite work out. Valerian stuck his hair to his face and neck, but he stood there almost motionless, just taking the circumstances as they were. Matt had taken off his heavy uniform jacket, as well as the pullover, and was an unfamiliar sight with just the T-shirt; Erynn couldn’t remember he had ever said he felt too warm, but now there were fine beads of sweat on his forehead. Swann suffered in the background, occasionally making an uncomfortable grunt, and only stepped forward for a better look when Raynor ordered the two battlecruisers to wait in the vicinity of the complex.

"Welcome to PX-642337-R.", Erynn said softly and rolled her shoulders, knowing that the pain would not go away.  
"Are you sure that the planet is abandoned?" Raynor asked.  
" _Officially_ it is definitely. But of course I don’t know if anyone else is here," she answered with a shrug and Raynor nodded. "After the Emperor merged all of Ghost's educational facilities on Ursa into the Ghost Academy, they also set up a facility for the less powerful ones," she added, and Swann muttered:  
"He probably likes to have his most powerful weapons so close to him."  
"Probably." Raynor agreed. Erynn joined Matt at the terminal, where the scan of the facility had just finished. As she reached for the hologram, he quickly withdrew his hand and a sting caught her. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to him yet, but he didn’t seem as if he would be happy about a try.  
"The big dome there is the Lightning Hall." She pointed to the large hemisphere on the left edge of the complex, which was almost seven floors high. "There's a Faraday cage in there, but there's still enough space." She hesitated for a moment, then turned to Egon in a lowered voice. "What do you mean, should we use the ... examination tables from the other ... _rooms_?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw both Matt and Valerian's face wince.  
"Would be better." Egon replied with a hoarse whisper.  
"I assume the corridors are designed for humans," Tychus intervened.  
"Yes, sure. Why?" Erynn asked, half turning to face him.  
"Well, then the SCVs have to stay at home. Can your Marines handle a screwdriver?" He grinned at Valerian, who looked back sourly.  
"If not, the Raiders can do it," Swann said. "But doesn’t matter who does it."  
"No, Mr. Swann, please take care of it as soon as we get there." Valerian said and forced a smile.  
"Fair enough."  
"Do the scans show any life forms?" Raynor asked, and Matt shook his head.  
"No. As a precaution, I extended the scans generously, but everything was quiet."  
"Very good."  
"Very good.", Valerian repeated, pressing a button on the comm and then raising his voice to give orders. Thanks to a new technical gimmick, the Hyperion and the Bucephalus were now so interconnected that you didn’t have to constantly re-establish the leased line and there was an over-all channel in the Comm. And if Erynn didn’t want to crawl into bed with a bulk pack of painkillers, she would have been glad that the Raiders were apparently taking Valerian's orders without much grumble.

\---

Goosebumps stretched across Erynn's entire body as she entered the lightning hall. There had been no electricity in the air for years, but she could still feel it. Almost automatically, she extended her psi to the metal ball which rested on a conical mount, roughly in the center of the dome.  
"And you're sure we're not going to be roasted with it?" She flinched when Tychus stepped up beside her and brought a sweat cloud with him.  
"There is a control room where the strength can be set exactly," she replied and Tychus frowned.  
"As intriguing as I find our little project, but the point makes my stomach ache."  
"You should rather talk to Egon. After all, he's the one who calculates all of this."  
"Talking to our lab rat now will cause him a nervous breakdown," Tychus muttered, shaking his head. "Whatever. What's the hall good for?"  
She smiled crookedly. "To test the strength of the psi and train. We had to generate electricity." She pointed to the ball. "Either over a period of time, a certain amount in a certain amount of time, or just as much as possible."  
"Inside the thing there?" He pointed to the Faraday cage.  
"Right. Shall I show it to you?" His hesitation was brief, but visible.  
"Why not?" He nodded and she went back to the entrance. She activated the warning signal and then closed the door of the metal dome that ran a few centimeters below the concrete dome. Then she nodded to Tychus and they entered the cage, which was not much larger than an average elevator cab. She closed the door as well and smiled up at Tychus. He grinned back and she looked up at the ball. The memories of the many times she had already stood here overlapped with reality, and then the first flashes of lightning darted through the dome. White, variants of blue and yellow, some in deep red. After a moment she stopped.  
"You're damn dangerous, girl." Tychus said softly.  
"No, not really." With a shake of her head she waved her hand. "That's just an impressive gimmick, that's all." She opened the cage and stepped back into the dome. "When I mentally talk to someone, it's just a whisper, even if I feel like yelling."  
"Still," Tychus said. "You have a power that puts you above the others."  
"I don’t deny that either. And yes, it can be dangerous, but that always depends on who it belongs to." Valerian had said something similar after Tychus' fairy-tale hour, and evidently the big man remembered it, because he looked very thoughtful.  
"Remind me to never put myself on the wrong side of your favor." With a smirk, she shook her head and released the dome so the Marines could bring in and anchor the examination tables. But in the back of her mind was the question why Tychus was suddenly so worried about her psi.

\---

The thin clothes that Tychus had put on just half an hour ago after a thorough shower had already begun to stick from the sweat. Stetmann had cautiously advised not to put on their favorite clothes, and apparently everyone had taken it to heart as they entered the Lightning Hall in somewhat faded clothes. Seven examination tables were arranged in the center, the metal ball on its stele in the middle, and Egon was about to put the tables in an almost upright position. The silence was unpleasant, but Tychus didn’t mind. He was too busy keeping his skull from exploding. It was thirty hours after the injection, and the last six were hell. It was pure willpower, maybe just stubbornness or pride, that kept them all more or less upright.  
"So..." Stetmann cleared his throat. "Miss Preston and Miss Morales are in the control room. I gave them the instructions in written form- ugh!" The young man dropped to his knees and Valerian grabbed his arm to pull him back to his feet.  
"You're sure we'll survive this?" Horner asked strained. The captain was incredibly pale.  
"I think it will be redemption," Jim said, sounding almost blearily.  
"Yes...", Swann stretched and pressed his hand to the temple.  
"Buckle up.", Stetmann said weakly. Tychus turned and headed for the first examination table.  
"They don’t look like they'll work automatically," he said.  
"No," Erynn said weakly. "So you cannot easily manipulate them."  
Although Tychus had expected Morales and Preston to help them, it was Erynn who first tied his ankles, then strapped the belts around his waist and chest and then fixed his wrists. There was something quite final about it, and he wasn’t completely comfortable with it, but left aside the fact of the activation energy, which was high enough to make diamonds out of them, he was more than excited about what came after.

Jim thought of Sarah. The Sarah he had known and whom he had left behind on Arcturus Mengsk's orders. Not for the first time he imagined how her last minutes, seconds, as a human had been, while Erynn and Valerian fixed him with trembling fingers on the examination table. There was that strange feeling, that little weird belief that with his own transformation, he could diminish the huge gap that gazed between him and Sarah.  
  
Rory Swann had already experienced and suffered quite a bit in his life and looked rather pragmatically at the things that might come. He didn’t care if he would turn himself into a wolf or a hare - in theory, at least - as long as he could keep up with his young engineers and push double shifts when the Hyperion needed him.  
  
Egon was not religious, not even rudimentary, but he still prayed that he would be right and they would not die. He hoped he had the chance to continue and expand this wondrous project, he had so many ideas! He had already taken a risk to implement some of them, but if it worked ... and if not, well, he was neither the first nor the last scientist to kill himself with his experiments.  
  
Valerian didn’t dare to doubt. For even if he did, there would be no way back. He had a strange, but strong, confidence in Stetmann's abilities, and he could not ignore the opportunities which lay before them, for there was more to it than his pride, hurt by Arcturus. Erynn fixed his ankles and his hips and as she reached for the chest strap, he leaned forward, took her face in his hands, and kissed her. She looked at him in surprise, then smiled in pain, before she closed the rest of the straps around him and gently brushed a strand from his forehead.  
  
Shortly after they reached the planet, Matt had already run out of power for doubt, fear or more. He needed every bit of strength and concentration to stand and not to whimper on every move. Even the embarrassed hope that the others wouldn’t feel better had faded from the hours of agony. He could only admire Erynn for fixing everyone so stoically at the examination tables. And he was a little surprised to see Valerian's public, albeit silent, expression of affection, and wondered if the outcast prince secretly had his own doubts. But when Erynn turned and just looked at him for a moment, it didn’t matter. He was still searching for words in his throbbing brain as she embraced him simply but fiercely. There was no need for words when he returned the hug briefly. He would rather have tickled a Zergling than participate in this project, but he would have also preferred to tickle a Zergling instead of letting Erynn run alone into her doom.  
  
Erynn could not tell from where she took the concentration for closing all those straps with her trembling fingers. Egon had refused to use the two doctors more than necessary, so she had offered to help him. Except that Egon was no longer capable of doing so. Slowly she closed the straps around her own ankles and her hips before glancing around. The others had their eyes closed and seemed to concentrate only on existing and breathing while they waited. She closed the chest strap. The project felt right and even if it was a lot crazy, she found the symbolism of the fairy tale reassuring and had the sensation of experiencing something almost magical. With difficulty, she fastened the strap around one of her wrists. Then she raised her other hand as a signal for the control room and took a deep breath. Valerian and Matt were here, the two were the most important for her at the moment.  
_Together_...  
A fine electric buzz pierced her ears, becoming a deep hum that gripped the whole body _.  
Together to the gates of hell and beyond._

\---

Tychus blinked. It took a moment, then his sight cleared and he stared at the metal ball for lightning whose stele had bent. Instinctively, he straightened up and froze. The examination tables where they had been strapped were gone, and they were all naked on the cold concrete floor as they had been on birth. Whereby, the right expression was not _gone_. The Marines had anchored the tables in the ground, but the remains of those had pierced through the metal net into the concrete walls of the dome as scrap heap.  
"Sweet mother of mercy…” Tychus murmured soundlessly and rubbed his temple. There was only a faint pounding in the head of the piercing pain left, but the idea of what powers had been at work did not well to him. There was a soft groan from Jim, his body twitching, but before Tychus could respond to it, a jolt ran through his own body and made him retch. He propped himself on the floor with one hand as a second jolt passed through him. Stars danced in front of his eyes, and then he felt like he was under the hands of several sadistic masseurs, all kneading, pressing, and pulling at the same time.  
  
When his vision cleared for the second time in two minutes, he stared at huge sand-colored paws. He was sitting... damn, he was sitting on his hind legs! His ears twitched and he felt his tail lazily glide through the air. Fascinated, he listened into himself.  
Force. Strength. _Might_.  
Slowly he turned his head to look at himself. Sand-colored fur with black stripes. A tiger? He grinned widely. Tigers were cool. Tychus, the tiger. Tiger Tychus. He stood up carefully and found, surprisingly quickly, a feeling for being on all fours. After three hesitant steps, it was as natural as breathing. _Lissome_ and _graceful_ were usually not adjectives that he would have chosen for himself, but as he spun around his unconscious comrades, he felt exactly that way.  
Waiting, he sat back on his place and then noticed something else. He could feel the others. Weak and somehow far away though, but there was a connection to them, somewhere in his consciousness. The attempt to understand the whole thing, was interrupted by a squeak.  
"T- ... T-Tychus?" Jim's voice sounded uncomfortably high.  
_"In a bright new splendor, Jimmy."_ Jim's mouth dropped open and then Tychus realized he hadn’t spoken. Into the moment of horrified silence came the mixed sighing and moaning of the others who awoke. As soon as Stetmann sat up, he gave a shriek which made them all wince.  
"Tychus?" Erynn asked in astonishment. His eyes jerked to her, and stuck a heartbeat too long to her breasts.  
"Tychus!" Valerian's exclamation whipped through the air, and apparently through all her thoughts. However, in Stetmann's recent squeak, Swann's stunned voice announced:  
"My arm!" All heads jerked toward him. Unbelieving, Swann looked at his left arm, or the stump of it, for the mechanical prosthesis was gone.  
"Oh.", Jim made dull and then Tychus felt a pull in the guts. Slowly and almost voraciously, he transformed back into a human being. A little awkwardly, he fell on his bare bottom and blinked in the round.  
"Phat shit," he mumbled, studying his hands.  
"My arm..." Swann mumbled dazed again. And then it was Erynn who suddenly shrieked and overcame the two meters to Horner, who was still lying on the ground, in a very non-ladylike way.  
"Matt!" Then Tychus realized that he couldn’t feel the captain and wondered for a moment if his rejecting attitude had cost him his life.  
Jim half spoke it out. "Is he ...?" Erynn, who had pulled Horner half to herself and half-bent over him, raised her chalk-white face.  
"He's alive." The touch of relief Tychus felt surprised him.  
"My arm...", Swann muttered a third time.  
"Swann! Pull yourself together!" Tychus snapped at him, but the chief engineer flinched, blinking and nodding weakly.  
"Um ... Commander… I think you-"  
"Urgh!"  
"-are the next one for the transformation.", Stetmann soundlessly finished his sentence while Jim leaned forward, choking. Fascinated, Tychus watched as Jim's body twitched, shrank and grew at the same time, and the skin grayed out before a broad band of fur appeared on his back. And then there sat a black and gray wolf.  
Almost instantly, Tychus' brain was overflowed with Jim's feelings and thoughts, so violent that he nearly let himself be infected. With difficulty, but confidently, he pushed it away.  
_"Oh my god, that's unbelievable!"_ , Jim sounded in his mind - in all their minds.  
"How do you feel?" Valerian asked, and again Tychus heard his voice in both ways, which was almost uncomfortable.  
_"Incredible."_ Whether it was a response or not remained unanswered. Like Tychus before, Jim made a round through the hall, twisting to examine himself, then uttered an impressive howl that made Tychus shudder for real.  
"But you did not mess things up, did you? I mean, because he's still a wolf anyway. ", Swann asked a little confused.  
"What? No. No, I don’t think so." Stetmann shook his head.  
"Totem animals reflect the soul," Erynn said softly. Horner's head rested on her thighs and she gently caressed his neck. Everything else about her was extremely tense.   
_"My soul animal is a wolf?"_ Jim sounded puzzled.  
"Apparently."  
"Jimmy, take it optimistic. You haven’t become a nightmarish monster with claws and thorns." Tychus shrugged half-heartedly with a grin.  
_"Well, I could imagine people who would fit that,"_ Jim murmured, and then he groaned softly and transformed back.  
"What about my arm?", Swann wanted to know from Stetmann.  
"Um..." Stetmann shrugged. "So, what happened to the prothesis - no idea. But the rest... um... well, possible that it will grow back." Under Swann's stunned look Stetmann ducked his head.  
"I just got used to it." Swann grunted with his usual dry humor and Tychus grinned while Jim smiled halfheartedly. Then they waited silently for a moment before Swann made a throaty grunt and cringed.

Tychus looked irritated at the bristly fur and the strangely-curved tusks sticking out of the muzzle while Swann tried to keep his balance with a missing front leg. This time, the flood of thoughts and feelings was not that strong.  
"A ... pig?" Jim asked no less irritated.  
_"What? Everything, just not that!"_  
"No pig." Valerian said slowly. "A boar." Swann twisted his not overly mobile neck to look at himself.  
_"Well,"_ he said then and his animal form grunted, _"I don’t have to transform myself. As a human being, it lives quite well."_ And then they simply waited until he transformed back. That was Stetmann's cue and he got nervous.  
An almost childlike enthusiasm and profound fascination flooded Tychus' thoughts as Stetmann appeared in a reddish-brown fur.  
_"A fox? Oh my God! A fox! A fox!"_ Tychus watched with a grin as Stetmann lumbered awkwardly through the dome and excitedly swept his bushy tail back and forth.  
"Isn’t he cute?" Jim grinned crookedly and Erynn smiled weakly.  
_"That's so incredible! I can feel and hear you all and it feels so damn normal! I cannot believe it, it actually worked!"_ Stetmann didn’t calm down until the retransformation hit him. At least a little, because the nervousness of its own possible form was now gone and the scientific curiosity surfaced again.  
"Erynn, you're the next one. Maybe you should-"  
"I will not transform," she said calmly but firmly. Tychus raised a brow in silence. She was still terribly tense and held Horner, but looking at her face she knew what she was saying.  
"Not?" Stetmann asked confused.  
"Why not?" Valerian asked, frowning.  
"Because I don’t want to," was the brief answer.  
"But you can do it?" Stetmann was still confused and she nodded.  
"I've seen you, I can feel and hear you, and I know I can. But I will not do it. At least not here and now." A slightly pinched move appeared around her mouth. "And when Valerian's done, I'd like to request medical care for Matt and get some clothes on."  
"Bu-but-" Stetmann began to stammer.  
"Matt's fine, isn’t he?" Jim asked alarmed.  
"I hope. But I cannot feel him."  
Jim frowned. "Very weak." Erynn indicated a shrug and then it became once again quiet; trying to ignore the dull buzzing of strange thoughts almost gave Tychus a headache again.  
As they skipped Erynn's transformation, time dragged on uncomfortably until Valerian groaned. Tychus watched again the spectacle of the transformation and smiled at the pale lion, who shook his golden mane in dizziness. Then he was hit by a mental force he had not expected, and he gasped in surprise; Stetmann and Swann had been knocked over directly.  
_"Sorry,"_ Valerian's mental voice vibrated. Awkwardly he made a couple of steps.  
"Arcturus probably will not be happy about his son rejecting the family symbol like this.” Jim grinned crookedly.  
"Why?" Stetmann asked irritated and without taking his eyes off the graceful figure.  
_"Because our family symbol is a wolf,"_ Valerian replied.  
"Oh."  
Tychus laughed softly. "Don’t they say the lion is the king of all animals?"  
Swann snorted. "How fitting." Erynn smiled silently to herself and Valerian posed majestically before letting hear an impressive roar. And to Tychus' surprise, Valerian started to laugh after. A laugh of positive overwhelming, relief and simple life joy. The others were far too stunned to respond, but Tychus understood him - maybe just from big cat to big cat, but he laughed too. Then he got up a bit stiff.  
"I'll report to our observation post. I suppose they should keep quiet at first?"  
Jim nodded. "We will tell them soon. Maybe not today,” he also got up a little awkwardly, "but certainly tomorrow." Tychus nodded back. Inside, somewhere around the navel, he felt a pulse of power that made him forget all the pain of the past few hours. A power he could feel right down to his toes. A power that made his muscles vibrate as he crossed the dome with bare feet.

\---

Erynn sat by Matt's bedside and held his hand. She could almost hear it clink when his mind joined hers, fractions of a second before he opened his eyes.  
"Erynn." He turned his head.  
"Matt. How do you feel?"  
"There are voices in my head," he said uncertainly.  
"I know. That's us." She smiled weakly and squeezed his hand gently. "We're all connected."  
_"Hey, Matt!"_ Raynor greeted him cheerfully. Matt's face almost showed panic.  
_"Captain, good to see you awake again!"_ Egon said. There was a mental nod from Tychus and Swann, and Valerian said _:  
"Welcome to the Hive Mind, the weirdest place on earth. Really, we have to learn to differentiate ourselves from each other, or I will go crazy."_ Erynn had to giggle, that didn’t sound like Valerian, but probably he was right. She could not tell if it was the lack of transformation or her psionic training, but the mindset did not affect her as much as the others.  
"Oh god..." Matt mumbled weakly and his voice echoed mentally.  
_"It's not that bad,"_ said Egon enthusiastically. _"We're not monsters, we're in control-"_  
"What are we?" Matt interrupted, half curious, half dismissive.  
_"Well, Commander Raynor-"  
"Egon, please, let me do this, yes?"_ Erynn asked the hyperactive scientist, and immediately he withdrew.  
_"Sorry."  
"It's okay."_ She smiled at Matt, who seemed confused, but the others tried hard not to flood him with their thoughts. "Raynor is a wolf and yes, Egon is sure he did not mess things up." Matt nodded weakly. "Tychus is a tiger, Swann a boar-"  
"A ... serious?" He looked at her incredulously.  
_"Yes, thank you boy, rub it under my nose."_ Swann muttered in the background. Erynn chuckled as Matt blinked irritably.  
"Sorry Swann, I thought... I thought it would be all... predators?"  
_"Oh, you don’t believe how aggressively wild boars can be if they defend their young."_ Tychus interjected.  
_"I just wanted to have a real conversation here, guys,"_ Erynn said admonishingly.  
_"Sorry, ma'am."_ Tychus grinned broadly and she rolled her eyes.  
"Swann." Matt said flatly. "Boar."  
"Right. Egon is a fox and Valerian a lion."  
He looked at her, waiting. "And?"  
"And what?"  
"Well... what about you? Or me?"  
"Oh. I haven’t transformed yet. I'll do it later... alone," she said carefully. He frowned at her and then she carefully sent him the pictures of what had happened in the dome. His face went blank, his eyes twitching, though he did not even notice his surroundings for a moment.  
"Oh ...", he then made and swallowed hard. "But..." He searched for words.  
"Listen," she started, licking her lips uneasily. "I can transform, I know it, but it's different somehow. My control over it is different. Probably for the psi, I’m not sure." She paused. "As for you ... I think you just _don’t want_ to transform yourself."  
"But I can?"  
"That's what I'm expecting. After all, you survived the metamorphosis." He nodded slowly and then they fell silent for a long moment. She hoped he somehow would find the calm to deal with it and accept it. Then a wave of stoic determination swept over her.  
"I think we have work to do." Matt said, giving her a serious nod. "The rest of our little rebellion needs to know what's coming up."

\---

"Raynor and Matt want to discuss after dinner how we tell gently to the rest of our people what’s going on." Erynn said bustled and stopped at Valerian's desk. Actually, he just sat there because it felt good to sit there and think. He nodded slowly. With much willpower and a good deal of ignorance, he could fade out the others to the point that only an annoying, irregular humming was left, but since Erynn interrupted him in his concentration, the thought vortex came over him again.  
"Okay ..." he said belatedly and nodded to her. She nodded back and forced a smile.  
"I need half an hour..."  
"Wait..." Hastily he got up and walked around the massive desk.  
"What's up?" She looked questioningly at him and her nervous restlessness washed around him.  
"I still haven’t apologized to you. For what I said. And the way I said it." He thought of the conversation for the purpose of the clinic mission, and without further words she understood; he could feel her recoiling from his guilt.  
"Oh."  
"I'm sorry, really, I didn’t-"  
"It's okay," she said softly. He looked at her in surprise.  
"No, it's not okay."  
"Yes, it is." They looked at each other.  
"If it's okay, why did you get drunk afterwards?" He demanded and she sighed.  
"Alcohol numbs old wounds."  
"I know..."  
"Well..."  
"You don’t have to talk about it, but I would really like to know-"  
"There are things that are none of your business," she interrupted almost sharp. He flinched, but more because of the pain, horror and guilt radiating from Erynn until she regained control and the tide stopped abruptly as it had begun. "I got drunk, I had fun, and stop. There is nothing more to say about it."  
"I just wanted to..." Surprised, he paused. He felt her rage and anger and as a precaution he took a step back, raising his hands apologetically. A second later, the sparkle faded from her eyes and she rubbed her temples.  
"I'm sorry." She bit her lip. "Just forget the whole topic, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she pressed a kiss on his cheek and disappeared. He stared after her, noticing that he was still staring at the door as the lion roared inside him. The female behind the metal walls was his. Irritated Valerian blinked and felt a rumble rise in his throat. Yes, even his human self sometimes had these thoughts, but the intensity of the lion’s feelings almost made him afraid. He struggled with himself for a moment and lost, so that he, with a suppressed rumbling, crossed Erynn's office and suddenly paused in the doorway to her bedroom. Naked and sweat-drenched, she lay on the floor, one hand clawing at the fluffy carpet. Carefully, he picked her up and laid her gently on the bed before curling around her and pulling the covers over her.  
"I'm not your girlfriend.", She murmured verbally and mentally, as the lion purred contentedly.  
"We'll discuss that later," Valerian muttered back.


	12. Of wolves, lions and close bonds

Of course, Jessica had heard the whisper.  
The whispering that there was a secret project.  
The whispering that Valerian's adjutant was actually a Ghost on the run.  
The whispering about the reasons for Horner’s resignation as Second-in-Command.  
The whispering about the things that took place in the old training complex.  
And the whispering that came up when two medics, as white as chalk, brought back an unconscious captain. How relieved she was when Commander Raynor ordered her to retreat into the open space...

The door to the bridge opened with a hiss, and her heart stopped in relief when a pale but otherwise normal-looking captain stepped in. Well, not completely normal: he was wearing a thin, black, long-sleeved shirt instead of his heavy uniform jacket.  
"Good morning," he greeted in his usual tone.  
"Good morning, Captain," sounded the crew.  
"Hall, is there anything to report?" he wanted to know and stepped next to her to the large overview terminal.  
"No, sir." She could feel the heat emanating from his body, and that made her nervous, although he wasn't closer than usual. "Except for the few disputes over the former Heracles crew, everything is quiet." He nodded.  
"Very well.” A faint smile scurried over his face. "I hope you all slept better than I did. Because as soon as Commander Raynor and-" The door slid open again and Raynor, Valerian and Tychus entered. "Speaking of the devil." Jessica unconsciously opened her mouth. The three men really sparkled of... Strength? Power? Prince Valerian, in particular, looked as if he could explode any moment into a bunch of golden sparks.  
"Good morning," he said politely.  
"Morning," Raynor grumbled in his very own way and nodded to her.  
"Good morning," the crew replied again. Tychus remained silent and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Horner and Valerian exchanged a strange, frowning look, then the door slid open a third time and Erynn hurried in, a sports bag slung over her shoulder.  
"Morning," she said busily, nodding to Jessica with a courtly smile which she returned, and then glanced at the men. Raynor, Valerian and Tychus rolled their eyes as Horner smiled suppressed. Jessica knew that Erynn could communicate mentally with the others, but this was different. Frowning, she watched as Erynn disappeared with the bag in the adjacent office and Raynor nodded to the captain. He cleared his throat and opened the Comm, and immediately the Datapad on Jessica's belt vibrated.

"This is Captain Horner speaking. This is a message to everyone, and by _everyone_ , I mean _everyone_ \- whether crew, soldier or medic, no matter which ship. This message is recorded, so you can let your comrades from the night shift sleep." Someone giggled.  
"As you may have noticed, Commander Raynor and Prince Valerian have been busy lately with things you haven't been informed about. We'll catch up on that now." It was so quiet that you could hear the buzzing of each terminal twice as loud as normal. Horner additionally activated a camera - the Datapad vibrated again - and took his usual position, while Raynor, Valerian and Tychus appeared.  
"We have dealt with Project Bloodmoon and thanks to Egon Stetmann we have adapted it so far that we can use it without hesitation for our purposes.” _Bloodmoon?_ Jessica had just downloaded a vampire novel with this title.  
"Since we are aware of what this can mean for the individual, we - Commander Raynor, Prince Valerian, Stetmann, Swann, Tychus, Erynn and myself - were the first to participate to the project." As if on cue, the bodies of Raynor, Valerian, and Tychus began to deform, stretch, and discolour, and after a bewildered blink, Jessica faced a wolf, a tiger, and a lion with their paws on their fallen clothes. She heard a horrified wheeze- hopefully not coming from herself -and stared at the three mighty predators as Horner continued talking about werewolves and Wargen.  
"...this project is based on voluntarism," Horner just said, as Jessica's perception again captured more than just the three transformed figures. "If you decide to participate, please contact Lieutenant Morales or Stetmann. If you need time to think or want to join the project later- we're not pushing anyone, it's your decision." Horner paused briefly and the lion - Valerian - stood on his hind legs to put his front paws on the star map. Almost thoughtfully, he tilted his head and then purred. Horner’s face twitched.  
"Soon you will find all possible background information on your datapads and of course we are at your disposal for any questions at any time." Jeremy thought along and broke the comms connection, almost at the same moment the office door slid open and Erynn stepped back on the bridge. She and Horner nodded at each other and the three predators trotted into the office, while Erynn sighed and collected the cloths.  
"You're not a chambermaid," Horner said quietly while Jessica was still wondering if she wasn't still dreaming by accident. Erynn snorted.  
"I'm an adjutant, which actually says it all." Now Horner snorted amusedly.  
"Um... Sir?", Markus interrupted the two.  
"Yes?" Horner turned around halfway.  
"Do you expect... do you expect us to just go along with this?" The captain frowned and shook his head.  
"I expect you to follow my orders and use your brain. But I assure you this is a point where I won't give orders to you." Markus nodded and Jessica was relieved. Three human figures stepped out of the office again, obviously in different clothes than before, which raised another question in Jessica.  
"Um... Sir... this transformation..." She cleared her throat embarrassed. "It obviously doesn't concern clothes..."  
"No." Horner said, "But Swann's working on some stuff that could solve the problem."  
"Ah. Good.” The captain nodded to all of them.  
"Think about it with calm." Valerian nodded to Erynn and Tychus and the three left the bridge. Thoughtfully, Jessica looked after them. If their captain had joined this project, if he was talking about it so convinced, how could she say no?

\---

Matt entered the large training room, which was surprisingly empty. Well, empty except for Tychus, who leaned against the wall with a dozy expression on his face, and Valerian, who fought with his sword against invisible opponents. With smooth flowing movements which were incredibly concentrated and precise, the prince glided through the room and Matt couldn't help but admire the muscle play through the shirt sticking to the sweaty- damp skin. As if Valerian had heard his thoughts, he paused, took off his shirt and wiped his neck with it. At the sight of so much princely naked skin, half the women in the sector would probably faint.  
"Show-off.", Matt mumbled softly.  
"Jealous?” Tychus, still with a sleepy expression on his face, grinned at him. Valerian's suppressed smile was interrupted by a knife that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pressed against his throat, matching which Erynns appearance in her Spectre suit and with a broadly grin on her lips. The shock moment didn't last long, then the prince and his adjutant swirled through the room in a dangerous dance.  
"Impressive, huh?", grumbled Tychus.  
"Mmh." Matt made a little speechless.  
"Hey Erynn!" Tychus raised his voice. "What is your official job title anyway?"  
"I am... adjutant..."  
Valerian grunted and blood rose of a cut on his cheek.  
"Looks more like bodyguard training."  
"Well..."  
"The employment description part of your job contract obviously covers several pages," Matt dryly remarked.  
"Not even a half," Valerian threw in and dropped his sword.  
"When did you actually learn that?" Matt wanted to know. Erynn ducked and jumped forward.  
"Right from the start. Even if not so intense". Valerian grazed her with a kick and she stumbled. "My adjutant training and Valerian taught me a lot," she added.  
"So much about the helpless pretty prince, huh?" Valerian growled and brought her down. She rolled around and kicked. Matt and Tychus winced sympathetically as Valerian yelped and writhed.  
"Not fair!" He gasped.  
"In war and love everything is allowed!” Erynn replied and kicked him in the chest with her heavy boots.  
"Whew!" Nevertheless, he managed to pull her to himself jerkily and one heartbeat later they went rumbling to the ground. Matt blinked and then Erynn sat triumphantly on Valerian's belly, her knife at the corner of his eye.  
"Under these circumstances, I surrender voluntarily." He smiled crookedly and she grinned down at him before she stood up and stretched out. Then Matt weakly picked up Tychus' question:  
_"You just let her beat you like that?"  
"I put priorities,"_ Valerian's answer came with a wink. Tychus laughed.  
_"I see... but a little wildcat can also be quite nice elsewhere..."_ Matt rolled his eyes inwardly and faded out the conversation laboriously.  
"Did Valerian even have a say when you took the job?" he turned to Erynn.  
"There was a small internal application procedure," she replied, wiping a strand from her forehead. "But Arcturus pre-sorted the applicants and gave Valerian only an appearance of choice." She shrugged. "And I doubt that he regrets his choice."  
"Probably not..." In keeping with Matt's comment, Valerian came over to them and pressed his sword into her hand.  
"I'm going to expand my training a little."  
"Don't overdo it." She wiped the cut on his cheek with her thumb - the scab fell off and left only fresh pink skin.  
"Never.” Valerian smiled and gave her a quick kiss before turning again to Tychus, who was just transforming. A little irritated, Matt looked at Erynn. Were the two now officially a couple?  
_"No,"_ Erynn whispered in his mind. _"Even if Valerian would like it that way."  
"You could just tell him that you don't want to be kissed. At least not in public,"_ Matt returned silently.  
_"Unfortunately, my prince is as stubborn as he is proud,"_ was the slightly frustrated answer.  
_"And I thought you had a very satisfying working relationship."_ In return he got a slap on the back of his head.  
"Find a girlfriend," she grumbled and turned her gaze to the two predator cats which wrestled with each other hissing and growling. Matt smiled - annoying Erynn was still fun - but he couldn't really concentrate on the truly impressive, almost frightening fight. The red lights that were flashing all the time on Erynn's suit made him go crazy.  
"Can you shut it off somehow?" he wanted to know.  
"What? The suit?" He nodded and she pulled the zipper down till the belly button and the flashing stopped. "Better?”  
"Uh..." He knew her naked, but the way her breasts presented themselves in the skin-tight, half-open suit... "No," he admitted. She rolled her eyes. "You are a damn hot girl.", he defended himself with now hot cheeks. A loving smile surrounded her lips and the topic was done.

\---

Excited and nervous, full of anticipation and expectations, Egon hurried through the corridors of the Hyperion to one of the smaller armories where Swann had built an energy emitter for him. With this they could activate the metamorphosis of the werewolves and Wargen and for the first four test persons he had exactly that in mind right now. At first drop by drop, then flood by flood, everyone had gathered to register, and then suddenly another question had arisen: what actually happened to the resocialized? Of course, they were the first to inscribe themselves and Egon was worried about what the metamorphosis would do with their manipulated brains. But he postponed the question until later and entered the room prepared for him. Two Raiders and two of Valerian's people stood by the door waiting. About in the middle of the room the energy emitter was placed, around him special shields, which would direct the energy in a direction - towards the person in front of it. Egon nodded to them and then paused to gather his thoughts.  
"You've all seen the transformations before?" The four nodded silently. Egon pointed out to the Raider-Werewolf to step forward. He had marked the ground and the man took his place with minimal hesitation, while Egon himself stepped up to the small control panel of the emitter and checked the settings quickly.  
"Are you ready?"  
"I'm ready." Egon pressed the activation button. There was a yellow-white flash of energy, the man groaned in surprise and then there was rumbling as he went down. Egon blinked and was relieved to see the man rise again, irritated.  
"Everything’s all right?" asked the other Raider. He nodded. And then he turned torturously slowly into a wolf and back again.  
"Wow..." he muttered, not touched by his own nudity.  
"How do you feel?”  
"... good, I think. A little dazed."  
Egon nodded. "As soon as you feel less well, please go to the med bay immediately." The man nodded, hesitated and decided to wait and watch.  
The metamorphosis of the Raider Wargen went just as smoothly and then Egon nodded to the second werewolf. It was one of Valerian's officers who proudly and without hesitation stepped in front of the emitter. Egon activated the emitter and a dazzling flash of light later he had to deny himself a stupid grin of joy, because the growing fur was by no means grey-black, but beige. A bewildered wheeze came from the other three men.  
"Um... Sir... this is a...", the Wargen began and Egon nodded.  
"A Werelion."  
"A what?" The lion turned back.  
"A Werelion. _Werewolf_ means nothing other than man-wolf. And that's a man-lion," Egon explained, while the said werelion irritatedly looked at his own hands.  
"But... but that wasn't mentioned at all," protested the werewolf.  
"I don't understand the problem," the Wargen of Valerian's people spoke up. "You are wolves, like Raynor. Then why shouldn't we be lions, like Valerian?" Silence filled the room and Egon almost burst with pride. Not only because his little experiment had apparently succeeded, but also because it was apparently well received.  
"You want to proceed?” He turned to the remaining man and made an inviting gesture. The answer was a silent nod. He stepped in front of the emitter, Egon activated it and then they all watched the transformation. In the meantime, Egon had gotten used to the shape of the grey-brown Wargen and the lion variant inspired him no less. When the man had his human form back, he nodded to them.  
"If you feel uncomfortable, please contact the Medbay." The four men nodded back and left the room, still a little stunned.

 _"Egon."_ Raynor's voice sounded a little annoyed.  
_"Yes, sir?"  
"Could you explain your little gimmick to us?"  
"Um..."_ Egon suddenly became embarrassed, his scientific pride blown away.  
_"I think the idea is really interesting and laudable, but couldn't you have at least given us a heads-up?"_ Valerian now also spoke.  
_"Please, Stetmann, tell me they're not joining our hive mind!"_ The Captain sounded really pleading.  
_"Uh... no, I don't think so..."_ Egon swallowed hard _. "I admit, the idea had not been thought through in every detail."  
"Stetmann!”  
“Sorry."_ he murmured meekly.  
_"What is it all about?"_ Tychus asked in between.  
_"Stetmann somehow managed to give Valerian's werewolves a lion shape,"_ grumbled Raynor.  
_"And?"  
"I can feel them,"_ Valerian said with an audible frown.  
_"I feel my Raiders too,"_ Raynor said, but seemed to shrug.  
_"I understand that the commanders can do that,"_ Horner interfered again, _"but why can I feel the mechanic?"  
"Because you are the commander of this ship,"_ Egon promptly said.  
_"That's..."_ Horner didn't finish his sentence, but Swann sighed in between.  
_"I don't understand the problem, boy. What's so bad about feeling the crew of your ship? You usually boast of knowing every face."_ Raynor's understanding sloshed into the connection, and finally the Captain said, worried:  
_"Consider me crazy if you want, but this reminds me too much of the Zerg's connection. We're not the swarm."_ Egon swallowed guiltily and chewed on his lower lip, but the others remained silent. Only thoughtfulness floated through the connection as Egon withdrew.

\---

Tychus wandered through the Hyperion until he arrived at the MediVac dock. There was an exercise taking place which he watched from the gallery until he noticed a lonely figure doing the same. Slowly he strolled over to the red-blond young woman, whose blouse sleeves also wore the Medics badges.  
"Banished to the stands?" he wanted to know, and she jerked in surprise. She looked at him briefly, blushed when she recognized him, and turned her gaze back to Morales and the other Medics.  
"Not directly."  
"But?"  
"I haven't gone through the metamorphosis yet. And the exercise is based on these things.” She grimaced. "As a simple human, I'm not good enough anymore." Her last words sounded bitter. Tychus snorted as an answer.  
"Your medical knowledge will not double just because you suddenly become a wolf."  
"It’s not about knowledge, but about the other things. Speed and self-healing and all that shit." She made a throw-away gesture. "Besides, I don't even know what I'm going to be." Irritated, Tychus raised a brow.  
"You're not a Raider?"  
"No." She leaned heavily on the balustrade with her forearms. "I belong to Merriman's crew. But honestly, I'd rather be a Raider."  
"Then just be one," Tychus gave back and imitated her posture. "It's easier than you think." He smiled encouragingly at her.  
"Really?"  
"Jimmy- Commander Raynor- is a good-hearted man. Sometimes makes strange decisions, but hey..." He shrugged. "He won't send you away. Go to him, tell him what you want, recite the Raider slogan, and if you believe it firmly, you will become a wolf." He gave her a short side glance. "But it doesn't really matter whether it's a wolf or a lion, does it?" But she was obviously not indifferent and he was curious about the reason. She was the first of Valerian's people who turned back on him or at least expressed her doubts. Her answer came hesitantly.  
"The others say... they have a new connection to their commander. They can feel him and vice versa. That frightens me."  
"Why? And where is the difference between Jim and Valerian?” It was obvious that she had a problem with Valerian, at least it was for Tychus. She was uncomfortable.  
"This connection..." After a pause, Tychus said:  
"This doesn’t go beyond feeling. Stetmann suspects that orders can also be given via this connection in case of doubt, but we are not at this point yet. I mean, how long have we been like this now? A week? Not even..." He shrugged, but when her worried face did not change, he added: "And by _feel_ I mean only the presence. No thoughts, no feelings.” He had hit the spot, for her gaze twitched up.  
"Not?” He shook his head. She gave a relieved sigh.  
"Soft spot for the prince?" Immediately her cheeks turned bright red. "You're probably not alone with that, sweetie. If I consider it correctly, it probably affects half the women in this sector." Smiling, he looked down at her.  
"My name is Anna," she said and frowned, he shrugged with a slight smile.  
"Anna. Okay.”

There was a thoughtful silence and when the exercise was finished down in the dock, Anna carefully asked:  
"Would you show me your animal shape? So, as a close up, I mean?"  
"Sure." He smiled patronizingly down at her. It wasn't directly an invitation, but he would make one out of it, because _his_ soft spot were pretty medics. "But not in front of all the ladies down there. The transformation robs me of my clothes and not everyone has to see everything, right?”  
"Of course not," she said seriously. "Whereby you have certainly dressed again, until I wake up from my unconsciousness. Tigers are terrifying, I heard." He wasn't sure if this was a joke or not, so he made one out of it.  
"Fearsome big in any case." To his joy she blushed deeply but smiled.

\---

Valerian went through the lists of those who had registered for the metamorphosis and had been put to a waiting position for the time being. Stetmann needed new ingredients for more serum and Erynn wanted to arrange another black-market meeting together with Raynor. When Valerian realized that he had already read the name _Joshua Mitchell_ several times, he raised his eyes and listened inwardly. His loins were tingling and he knew why. Coming from Tychus sexual desire flowed into the connection. Actually, Valerian had believed that both he and Tychus had already progressed in controlling their thoughts and feelings, but the strange lust taught him a lesson. He tried to ignore it, put it aside, but again he was stuck with a name on the list. All right, distraction- he would get up and... A soft groan slipped both Tychus and him and he sank back into his desk chair. His pants suddenly became tight.  
"Oh damn..." The word hadn't really left his lips yet, when Tychus' point of view briefly overlaid with his own. There was a red-blond hair, bent deep over his lap, a gentle sucking and-  
"Am I disturbing you?" Valerian's eyes opened. Asking, but visibly amused, Erynn looked at him from the door frame.  
"What?” At this moment he realized that he had his hand in his pants and was holding onto himself. "Oh." He turned red and pulled his hand back. Erynn smiled.  
"Tychus is having fun, huh?"  
"Obviously," murmured Valerian and cleared his throat. "Doesn’t it bother you?" He groaned quietly and she giggled.  
"My poor prince, overwhelmed by strange feelings." A rumble rose in his throat - he wouldn’t put up with that. He stood up and walked towards her without breaking the eye contact. Although everything in him cried out, he slowly took her in his arms and kissed her even more slowly. He felt her melt, felt her flaming lust.  
"If we feel that way... how must Matt feel?" she muttered as he grasped her bottom and nibbled on her neck, referring to the fact, that Matt was the weakest one in terms of controlling the connection.  
"Leave your best friend outside," he growled at her. "There's only room for one man in my bed."

\---

Said best friend stood on the bridge and discussed with Vaughn, Merriman and Hall how to deal with the increasingly escalating disputes on the two ships, which were far too full.  
"...but we simply can't make a separation in terms of metamorphosis or not", Vaughn angrily said to Merriman.  
"But that's exactly the problem!” Matt opened his mouth because he wanted to interfere when the fine tingling in his loins which he had successfully ignored for a few minutes could no longer be ignored. His mouth became dry when the words on his tongue died. Tychus. Who else? Matt took a deep breath and got a questioning look from Hall as Vaughn and Merriman continued to argue. He could feel her, physically and mentally, could almost smell her...  
"...and I tell you it's impossible!"  
"Commander Raynor and Erynn are on it right now." Hall started and was interrupted by Matt.  
"The negotiating…" Tychus groaned and Matt clung to the terminal, which had a pretty Holoprojection of the Hyperion shimmering at chest level as a suppressed wheeze slipped out of him.  
"Captain?" Hall asked carefully. His blood finally sank to the centre of his body.  
"Everything all right?" Vaughn now wanted to know, too, frowning. Matt nodded and then his world was suddenly not all right anymore when he saw for perhaps four heartbeats through Tychus' eyes; a reddish blonde hair, deep in his lap, a humid heat surrounding him down there... He bit his lower lip so hard that it bled.  
"Captain Horner, are you all right?" Merriman asked seriously. Matt had to get out of here.  
"Excuse me!" He choked out the words and prayed that no one would think of looking anywhere but his face as he left the bridge staking. A bit down the hall, right next to the technician room of the bridge, was a small office that officially belonged to the Captain, but where he never worked. The fabric of his underpants rubbed unpleasantly against his sensitive skin as he walked. The door closed behind him and, breathing deeply, he leaned against the wall. The strange lust that broke over him doubled and tripled. _Please not..._ Valerian and Erynn. The tightness of his pants was painful and he fumbled them open with trembling fingers. _Oh, please not…  
"Could you... please, somehow... stop?"_ Stetmann squealed completely confused.  
_"Shut up,"_ growled Tychus half-heartedly.  
_"Bu-but..."  
"There are people who have to work,"_ Matt threw in.  
_"Just enjoy the show,"_ Jim said sluggishly. Matt slipped a tortured groan. _Enjoy?_ He had more important things to do than watch a Tychus porn. _Control. Self-control._ The others would finish sometime and then he could continue to take care of the problem. Stetmann gave a defeated groan, although he had just started, and Matt bit his lip again. When he licked off the blood, he wished it was another tongue doing that. _Self-control._ The same one visibly faded when he blinked and suddenly looked at Erynn through Valerian's eyes.  
She smiled at him, dreamy, burying a hand in his long hair as he slowly lowered his head. She lifted her hips towards him and into the hot sensation Matt snapped back into reality. He gasped.  
_"Come on, Matt. You're young, enjoy life,"_ Jim whispered rough.  
_"Jim, the only woman in this chaos is my best friend,"_ he whispered back. _Self-control._ The pictures were not real, it had been Valerian. _"My brother's wife."_ The picture of Kenny helped.  
_"Yeah, your brother's widow which is just happily fucking her prince."_ That didn't help at all. Tychus finished and the mental shock wave pulled the floor away from under Matts feet. _Please don't..._ A lustful whimper came from Stetmann. Matt's fingers clawed into his trousers. His gaze searched the room for something to distract him, but if there was anything, he didn't realise. A second shock wave, coming from Stetmann, washed over him.  
_"That was quick,"_ Tychus commented dryly. Matt didn't want to do it in front of everyone else- _self-control!_ He gasped for air, at the same time as Erynn.  
His- her- eyes opened and he looked at Valerian. The steel-grey eyes shone feverishly, Erynn raised a hand to bury it again in his hair and pull him down to herself. Matt felt his mouth twitch, though it was definitely not him kissing Valerian, but he could feel the hot skin of Valerian's back under his fingertips as if it was real. The heartbeats passed, but the mental connection didn't break. It felt so wrong when Valerian moved back into Erynn that Matt grabbed his penis to make sure he wasn't going completely crazy. When his hand closed around it, he could feel Erynn's brief irritation washed away by a wave of desire.  
"Oh..." She gasped. "Val..."  
Matt was mentally stuck in his best friend's body while she was having sex. _Great._  
His- Erynns- fingernails pierced Valerian's butt and Valerian's hot breath stroked his- her- neck. Erynn began to make all the sweet little noises that Matt knew so well. Too well, considering they had never slept with each other, but the wall between the brothers' rooms was just too thin. But that was the end of Matt's self-control.  
A relieved groan, almost a sob, slipped from his lips as his hand moved jerkily. Erynn tilted her hip and pressed Valerian to herself, who rumbled.  
Three heartbeats.  
Valerian groaned throatily, Erynn gasped for air, Matt huffed.  
Two heartbeats.  
Erynn opened her eyes for a tiny glimpse, the ecstasy in Valerian's face would burn itself into Matt's memory forever.  
Four heartbeats.  
As if they were only one person and not three, they cried out at the same time.

\---

Jessica took the two drinks from Cooper and wandered between the tables until she reached Captain Horner and put one of them in front of him. Surprised, he looked up.  
"Hall... what's that for?"  
"For you, sir. You look like you need one," she said and sat down. He chuckled and shook his head.  
"Why do you think I drink lemonade?"  
"Tell me."  
"Because the three of them", he pointed with his thumb behind him to Raynor, Swann and Tychus, "drink enough."  
"I admit I can't quite follow you," she admitted and he smiled as he turned the half-empty lemonade glass between his fingers.  
"We are connected. Here.” He tapped his temple. "Not just about thoughts or feelings, you know, but also about the damn alcohol. I am as sober as I can be, but my brain is still hazy."  
"Oh." A mental connection probably explained a lot. But before she could ask, Horner tilted his head and looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then he said:  
"I can feel you. Every single member of the crew of the Hyperion who has already metamorphosed. As if I only had to turn my head to see you." He closed his eyes a little and Jessica noticed confusedly that this conversation went very differently than expected. "Well, First Officer Jessica Hall, how about we follow Jim's advice and let the Raiders all be one big family? I mean, the metamorphosis has brought us all closer together anyway."  
"I'm not sure what you're getting at, sir...," she said uncertainly and jerked in surprise as he held out his hand.  
"Matt."  
"Oh. Uh... Jessica..." She suppressed a stupid grin and shook his hand. "Could you explain the connection a little more?" she then asked and hid for a moment behind her drink.  
"We can communicate with each other, see through each other's eyes, send each other memories," he said slowly. "But the connection is... too tight... We try to separate ourselves, but it's not necessarily easy." An unfortunate expression scurried over his face. "At least not for me." He sighed and she took another sip. "Strong thoughts and most of all feelings can influence us unintentionally."  
"Sounds unpleasant," she remarked neutrally.  
"It is."  
"Did something like this happen this morning? When you... when you suddenly left the bridge?" He turned bright red.  
"Yes.” Embarrassed, he licked his lip, which looked as if he had chewed on it violently. "Tychus had a lady visitor."  
"Ah." Jessica leaned back and examined Horner’s- Matts- facial expression. Experiencing sex through a mental connection while having a serious conversation was probably anything but pleasant. "Was it... enjoyable?" she wanted to know and he choked on his lemonade.  
"It was catching. And that's not nice with seven people.” Without drinking she put her glass down again.  
"That's... I'm sorry, that really must be..." If you ignore the unfavourable moment of time, it must somehow have something charming about it. The thoughts were obviously written on her face, because he shook his head.  
"Believe me, when perspectives overlap, it's not appealing at all. At least not if I ever want to look Valerian in the eye again." Involuntarily she had to giggle.  
"Did Erynn enjoy it?" He looked at her angrily.  
"Ask her yourself." She giggled even more.  
"Sorry." He rolled his eyes, shaking his head.  
"I really don't need mental porn with my best friend."  
"But in general, you do?"  
"Uh..." Again he blushed deeply. "I didn't mean it like this." He cleared his throat and emptied his glass before saying: "I live quite well without it." She forgot to laugh at his tone. He seemed... sad? Hurt? Carefully she touched his hand with her fingertips, which now closed around the drink she had brought with her.  
"Forgive me the question... but could it be that you are quite lonely?” Surprised he looked at her, then he lowered his gaze.  
"Lonely in what way?" he wanted to know quietly.  
"Well... you are our captain and always there for us. But apart from that..." She shrugged. "Raynor is our superior and I know all those officers well enough to know that you wouldn't call any of them friends. Actually...you're overgrown with your job."  
"Well, possible." He admitted it so quickly that he must have thought about it already. And even though the question was superfluous, because he had only recently confirmed that he was single, she asked him anyway:  
"Is there really no woman in your life other than Erynn?” He snorted.  
"I don't have time for that." She raised a brow.  
"You have a bunch of officers all waiting to carry out your orders. You have a commander who makes the decisions. Your day, like ours, has twenty-four hours. Where's the difficulty hidden in taking a few of them for a woman?" Unsure, he opened his mouth, but she already continued. "But in case of doubt it really doesn't take hours." He blushed again and she smiled crookedly before she realized what kind of message she had sent. Was she brave or silly?

Matt wasn't stupid. He had known for a long time Jessica was interested in him, and he got the well wrapped invitation. But he just didn't like the idea of standing on the bridge every day after a one-night stand that was meaningless, at least for him. And it wasn't enough for more, because Jessica was pretty, but not a woman he could get along with in private.  
"Maybe... maybe you're right..." He wrung himself a smile. "Maybe a little company would do me good." She blushed and he hoped he could get the curve without hurting her.  
_"Go, Matt, go,"_ Tychus grinned in this moment and Matt rolled his eyes inside towards him.  
"However, after the...", he cleared his throat meaningfully, "experience this morning I’m not ready to share something like that with everyone else".  
"Oh." The blush on her face deepened. "I understand."  
"At least not until I can build a thick wall around my thoughts," he added murmuring and eliciting a nervously- embarrassed giggle from her. He gave her a shy smile and was frighteningly satisfied with himself.  
_"If you were planning to accept her invitation at some point, I'd be proud of you,"_ Erynn remarked with a smile.  
_"I really love you, but after I had to deepen my acquaintance with Valerian a little too intensively, my appetite passed away,"_ he grumbled at her _.  
"Appetite comes while eating. And otherwise I already told you that I don't know what happened there,"_ she grumbled back.  
_"Yes, sure. Go to bed with your prince. Or rather not, I can do without a second time."  
"What, didn't you like it?"_ she asked mockingly.  
_"Erynn, you're a really gorgeous woman, but my best friend. I don't want to… um… you know… through Valerian's eyes..."_ He paused at the memory. _"And I certainly don't want to get stuck in your head and watch Valerian during this... well... No."  
"Well, then you shouldn't reject Jessica."  
"So that you all have something of it? Renounce too."_ He faded out Erynn's quiet laughter and nodded his apologies to Jessica:  
"See you tomorrow morning on the bridge. Good night, Jessica."  
"Good night... Matt..." The way she pronounced his name told him that a simple one-night stand would probably break her heart. And he could do without a first officer with even more heartache than she already had.

\---

Valerian entered the bridge of the Hyperion.  
"Good morning."  
"Good morning." greeted the officers. Matt's gaze twitched from the terminal to him and then moved embarrassed to the side.  
"Shouldn't you be in the docking bay with the others?"  
"I wanted to see the overview of the base beforehand," Valerian replied and stepped next to Matt, who looked at the holographic representation.  
"You didn't have to come here for that."  
"Now, I can't enter your sacred bridge anymore?", Valerian asked mockingly and Matt frowned.  
"I rather mean that you could use the time better. I can always send you a detailed reminder or let you see through my eyes," he said quietly.  
"So that I might accidentally stumble across some embarrassing things?"  
"You shouldn't rummage around in my head, but only use the advantages," Matt growled. Valerian turned his lips into a mocking smile. He himself hadn't really noticed it yesterday, but Erynn had told him what had happened. It was almost amusing and the idea of looking at Matt's memories seemed definitely interesting to him. Not that he really wanted to dig around in his head, but he certainly wouldn't ask for it. Most amusing of all was Matt's discomfort and that was actually the main reason why he was here. The captain was just too uptight. But since he was here, Valerian went through the Dominion base information with Matt in detail and nodded afterwards.  
"Good. That'll be a first test."  
"For you, the soldiers..."  
"Our abilities, our adaptability..."  
"What happens if we lose contact at a distance?"  
"Well," Valerian said pragmatically, "if we notice it, we'll see how things are at that moment. Unlike Wargen, we can't speak in animal form, and on top of that, a lion with a headset would look pretty silly." Matt just raised a brow in response.

When Valerian arrived in the docking bay, the bustle of the preparation prevailed there. It would take about an hour until they entered the orbit of the rather unimportant planet to attack the Dominion base there, but for the first combat mission under "Project Bloodmoon" all participants wanted to be as prepared as possible. Tychus, Raynor and Erynn stood a little aside and the red-blond haired woman next to Tychus looked familiar to Valerian.  
"Good morning," he greeted, and before anyone could say anything else, Tychus put an arm around the young woman's shoulders and explained:  
"We have a very personal Medic." She blushed deeply.  
"Anna Withmer, Prince Valerian, Sir," she said embarrassed. He nodded to her for simplicity's sake.  
_"Swann, Egon, Matt - are you there?"_ Erynn wanted to know.  
_"Sure,"_ Swann grumbled.  
_"I'm listening,"_ Stetmann murmured. Matt sighed theatrically, but then probably changed his mind.  
_"I'm here."_ Erynn nodded with her head to one of the small side rooms and gave Anna a meaningful look. The Medic without armour waited outside.  
"So?" Raynor raised a questioning brow.  
"I'll come with you. Out there, I mean", Erynn explained and rolled her shoulders.  
"You can't-" Valerian started, but then Erynn's body deformed and two heartbeats later he faced a big tigress. "Oh.", he made perplexed. Stetmann squeaked curiously- surprised- fascinated. The tigress shook herself and turned into a wolf.  
"Wow..." murmured Raynor and Valerian blinked irritated. Then the wolf grew into a lioness and Valerian slipped a deep purr. She was so beautiful…  
"And suddenly there are completely new possibilities...", Tychus remarked amusedly.  
_"Tychus, you're a good guy, but sometimes you're just disgusting,"_ said Erynn angrily.  
_"You can take our forms?"_ Stetmann asked eagerly.  
_"Yes.”  
"Have you noticed any special features?"   
"Our fur colours differ. You and Raynor have dark hair, your fur is darker than mine."_ The lion in Valerian watched with possessive pride how elegantly the lioness sat on her hind paws and tilted her head a little in his direction, her tail gliding sluggishly through the air.  
_"I have the feeling the transformation is more tied to you than I can put into words so far,"_ she then added.  
_"What do you mean?”  
"The greater the distance, the harder it is for me. Here, right next to you, it is as easy as breathing.”  
"I see, I see..."_, Stetmann muttered with fascination, while Swann grumbled:  
_"Well, a wolf is more helpful in battle than a boar, so don't worry. I don't blame you."_ Erynn laughed quietly and both Valerian and Raynor smiled.  
"Do you have your own form?" Raynor wanted to know and the lioness shook her head gracefully.  
_"What about... my form?"_ Matt asked hesitantly. Erynn sighed softly.  
_"You have one, that much is for sure. But as long as you haven't accepted it yourself, I can't do it either".  
"I see,"_ Matt answered uneasily.  
_"Fascinating,"_ Stetmann muttered.  
"Since this has now been clarified, can we then actually turn back to the important things? The fucking Dominion, for example," grumbled Tychus.  
"Sure.” Valerian nodded to him and Erynn stretched out until a human woman stood before them again.  
"Shoo, shoo, I want to get dressed again." She shooed the three men out and Raynor shook his head.  
"I've found myself naked in much more unpleasant situations, but that's actually a point we need to work on."  
_"I heard it, cowboy, and I'm on it. Tosh **forgot** a half-baked project to improve the Spectre and Ghost suits here.... While you're busy right now, I'll go through some ideas with Stetmann," _Swann reported.  
"You are the best..." Raynor grinned and Swann waved it off in his mind. Then the Comm cracked and everyone in the docking bay pricked up their ears.  
"Prepare to enter orbit," Hall announced. Valerian frowned. He wasn't wearing a watch, but the announced hour wasn't over yet. "Before the ground troops can enjoy themselves, the Wraiths have the pleasure again."  
"Everyone onto battle stations," Matt shouted in the background and both Valerian and Raynor sighed.  
"Can't the Dominion do just for once what you want it to do?" Raynor asked rhetorically.  
"What, then, dissolve into dust?" Tychus asked back.  
"Yes, maybe even that..." Then a gentle shake went through the ship as they entered orbit. Valerian could feel the buzzing of the Hyperion and his people’s minds.

 _"I'm sorry, Commander, but this shouldn't take too long. Ah... no... make yourselves comfortable in the transporters, we'll be right there,"_ Matt said a few minutes later and sounded satisfied.  
"Guys!” Raynor raised his voice. "Get in! The captain has announced that we are allowed to join in right now." Laughter rose and then a surprisingly large group of strangely dressed men stepped up to them.  
"Gentlemen, you heard the Commander," Valerian said politely, noting that they were both Raiders and his men.  
"We did, sir, but we will stay with you," explained one of them. Valerian raised a brow in asking. "We are the Alpha-guards," he added.  
"Alpha-guards?" Tychus asked irritated.  
"Alpha... like alpha male?" Erynn wanted to know and looked as if she had to stifle laughter. But the troop in front of them nodded dead serious.  
"We are here to protect you. Commander Raynor, Prince Valerian and you, Miss."  
"Me?"  
Now Raynor smiled. "Alpha female."  
"Oh... uh..." Erynn blushed and Valerian nodded majestically.  
"Since we probably can't stop you, thank you very much. We appreciate that."  
"You know, junior, wolves fight in packs," Raynor said and put a hand on Valerian's shoulder.  
"Not only wolves hunt in a pack, sir," growled one of the men. Valerian could feel him, it was one of his Wargen. "And our prey is definitely too big for a lone warrior."  
Tychus snorted amused. "You speak a true word."


	13. Various fronts

"Landing in thirty seconds." announced the pilot of the transporter and Valerian rolled his shoulders. The members of their new Alpha Guard took off their shirts and shoes and Tychus followed them before he transformed. They had trained, tortured their claws and teeth until they could actually penetrate the armour of a Marine, they had injured and shot at each other, and when Valerian thought about how they were all completely intact- voluntarily catching a bullet to see how quickly the self-healing of such a wound responded was really unpleasant- they had made extreme progress in less than a week. _Adapt or die.  
  
_The transporter set astonishingly gently on the stony plain and Valerian transformed. He was delighted to see Erynn standing next to him as a lioness, and side by side they left the transporter over the extended ramp. Above them, their air troops were about to take out the last flying defenders so that the ground troops could take care of the rest on their own.  
_"Behind that hill lies the base. It's already in a flurry of excitement,"_ Matt said tense. The two leaders of the Alpha Guard had received earpieces at the last moment, but Matt was still their connection point.  
"Let's go," one of the lion-Wargen growled rough and the pack rushed off, left and right flanked by normal infantry coming from other transporters and followed by a handful of medics, including Tychus' Anna.  
Valerian felt all the small and large stones under his paws ripping open the leathery skin and how it was healing again and again before he had taken the next step. He felt the wind in his mane and stroking his fur. He smelled the animal figures around him, as well as all the mechanics with their lubricating oil and dirt. He felt the excitement and tension of his comrades and his Wargen. And he felt Erynn as if they were walking hand in hand and not with half a meter of space between them.  
They crossed the plain and climbed the hill. A small part of their troops had been dropped off on the other side of the base to serve as a distraction and give them the opportunity to attack down the hill. Raynor howled, his Wargen did the same. Valerian roared and his Wargen roared with him. The Dominion troops responded surprisingly quickly and well-coordinated. The local commander had probably expected it, but Valerian didn't think about it now, there were others who had a better overview.

_"As soon as we put on our fur, we're lone warriors. No HUD, no headset. Just you," Raynor had said and Matt had sighed with a crooked smile._  
_"Maybe it's good that I can't accompany you, huh?" Swann had rolled his eyes._  
_"You know, there are others who can command the troops."_  
_"That's right, and I fully trust you when it comes to mechanized units, but none of the others can both give orders and keep in touch with our furry comrades at the same time," Matt had replied and Valerian had rolled his eyes while Tychus had grumbled:_  
_"The only one who really has fur here is Jimmy. Or alternatively Stetmann. Speaking of which, what do you think, can he make us some hair-care?"_

Valerian jumped- he was good in jumping- and threw a Marine to the ground before he rolled to the side. A Wargen took his place, tore the visor open with his much longer claws and then the face from the man's head. But Valerian didn't see, he just knew it was like this. One bullet bored into his flank, one into his right hind leg, but he still pulled the attacking Marine to the ground, threw the Gauss- rifle aside with one paw and roared at him. His healing flesh pushed one of the bullets out, the other had been a shot through. In the heat of the battle he barely felt the pain. Catching bullets for the slower healing Wargen, jumping, throwing Marines to the ground, making space for the shredding claws of the Wargen and holding the pack together with roars. The lion was happy, so was Valerian.  
He turned slithering around the corner of a barrack and heard a frightened wheeze. There stood a Medic fiddling with his dented chest armour, which apparently hindered him from breathing. Valerian pressed his belly against the floor, sneaked two, three steps forward, rumbled quietly as his prey stumbled back and jumped. With delight he helped the Medic to take off his armour. His heavy paws broke a few ribs of the young man and the painful screaming rang in the ears before it broke off because a strong jaw closed around the throat.  
Three Wargen caught up to him and together they hurried on. A SCV who had mounted kind of a flamethrower greeted them at another corner and the lion-Wargen running in front of Valerian got a nice load of fire in his face. His roar of pain was ear-piercing but that didn't stop Valerian from jumping at the SCV and balancing on its fire-free arm. Climbing may not have been his specialty, but he did, after all, you can only grow on challenges. The SCV driver tried to shake him off, but a mighty dart later he balanced on a ledge of the driver's cabin and caught the hidden emergency button with a paw. The cabin opened, although the driver hammered the close button screaming. Valerian made a sluggish jump and tore the driver's seat from its anchorage as his claws bored through the overall and his jaw closed around the man's shoulder. When he had regained his balance, he put a paw stroke in the face of the screeching and beating man that broke his neck. The quiet crackling made Valerian's ears twitch, but he jumped back to the ground without hesitation. The Wargen, who had made acquaintance with the flames, sat in human form leaning against a wall, while a Medic spoke to him calmly and treated his already healing wounds.

_"Valerian, turn left at the next corner and you'll come to Command Centre. The commander has built a defensive wall there. Or at least tried it."_ Matt sounded as if he was sick, but that was a thought that Valerian did not pursue. He growled at his Wargen and they started moving again, turned left and he saw said command centre. The barricades were quite pointless and the Marines' ranks were only extended by a handful of medics and a few Marauders. For larger variety of troops, the base was simply too insignificant.  
_"To all units, the base is secured. Remaining resistance is the command centre,"_ Matt announced and Valerian heard one of the Wargen leaders repeat the news for the others. Nearby, Raynor howled and with him his wolves.  
_"Go, go, go! Then we'll be back for lunch,"_ Tychus said enthusiastically, and Valerian saw the tiger jump towards the barricades with a huge dart.  
_"Do you always have to do stupid stuff?"_ Raynor wanted to know angrily, while Valerian hissed and resembled Tychus. The Marines fired on them, but once he was between them, it didn't matter anymore. He gave paw blows, used the momentum to knock over the men in their heavy armour, and created confusion.  
Growling, rumbling, hissing, scratching, jumping... The lion was completely in his element, and Valerian had no big problem giving free rein to his new animal instincts. He felt wild and free, he was a warrior and far away from the shining prince shown in the media.  
Someone had broken open one of the doors to the command centre and Valerian followed a group of Marines in.  
_"Tychus, what are you doing?"_ Stetmann asked in between, horrified, followed by a choking.  
_"I'm a predator, Kiddo, guess what,"_ Tychus gave back smugly and Stetmann vomited violently. Matt moaned quietly. Valerian had better things to do - hunting, for example - though the lion tactics - sneaking up and jumping on - with a bunch of rumbling Marines in tow was rather impossible. But then the Marines turned left while he chose the right path of a junction. Pressed to the ground as flat as possible he pushed himself forward, let the lion sniff, hear, feel...  
There were two Medics in a side room, one was injured, he could smell the blood and the chemicals of their equipment. Slowly he crept on. To his amazement the door was open, but the lion was not familiar with human structures and didn’t hesitate a bit, Valerian's doubts came too late. He darted around the door frame and was greeted by a hail of bullets, accompanied by a horrified screech. Gurgling, Valerian went down, his eyes closed against his will.  
"Is it... dead...?" asked a woman, somewhere far away. Flesh grew back together. Bullets were repelled.  
"You tell me," groaned a man with a voice distorted by pain. Valerian's hearing sharpened itself again - he didn't die so easily. He suppressed a rumble, breathed flatly and struck with his paw when he felt someone bending over him. Flesh tore under his claws, which almost immediately dug themselves into bones and threw the light human body aside. Screams filled his ears as he got back on his feet and put the woman over the edge with a second paw stroke. The injured man tried to crawl away – what a stupid idea - and the lion bent over him with a rumble.  
"Please don't," whispered the man with in horror wide opened eyes, but the predator jaw closed relentlessly around his throat.

Only a few minutes later Matt announced that the fight was over and Valerian trotted back from the command centre out to the open sky. He listened inside himself and staggered.  
Stetmann lay on the floor of the laboratory and had vomited several times.  
Swann, breathing heavily, held on to a terminal with his hand and provisional prosthesis.  
Matt had sunk into the captain's chair and buried his face in his hands.  
Then he stepped out into the forecourt and paused in shock. There might not have been too many, but the corpses on the battlefield looked only marginally better than after a Zerg attack. Slowly Valerian transformed back and swallowed heavily, but the pungent metallic taste in his mouth didn’t disappear. He was soiled with blood all over, in his hair stuck whatever. A cartridge case pierced into his bare foot and when his gaze twitched down, he immediately regretted it. Dead open eyes stared at him from a shattered visor. Nausea rose up his throat and he felt the echo of emotion in the others. A wolf detached from a group of Wargen and turned into Raynor as he walked. He nodded seriously to Valerian.  
"Being right in the middle of it is something different than looking at it from the control room, huh?" Valerian nodded silently. The lion had enjoyed the killing.  
"Commander...," he finally whispered harshly after his gaze had wandered over the chaos again, but Raynor shook his head gently.  
"Your baptism went quite well, Junior. Jim's all right."  
Meanwhile the troop transporters had come to pick them up and one of them landed as close as possible. The alpha guard headed for it, but Valerian hesitated.  
_"Erynn,"_ he asked in a whisper.  
_"Here."_ A lion's head slid under his hand to match her answer. He patted her as if she were actually a pet, but her presence did him good, though he could feel her disgusted aversion to the event.  
_"Well, come on..."_ Jim said and nodded to them. When Valerian saw the naked Commander stab away, he really became aware of his own nudity, but he lacked the willpower to transform again and hide his shame. Erynn gently nudged his thigh with her snout.  
_"We need a shower."_ He nodded silently.  
_"And something to eat wouldn't be bad either. Man, fighting makes you hungry,"_ Tychus sounded in a good mood. The only answer he got was Stetmann's new choking.

\---

"Hey, Matt!" Matt turned around and saw how Erynn stepped into the same passage through a bulkhead.  
"Hey... where are you going?"  
"To Swann." She caught up with him and sighed. "My Datapad has a flaw somehow and the technician I gave it to made it worse. His luck he doesn't belong to Swann's people."  
"So why didn't you leave it to his boys instantly?"  
"Because a little bit of local patriotism is quite good... every now and then."  
Irritated, he raised a brow. "Local patriotism in relation to the Bucephalus? My goodness..." She grinned cheekily and he shook his head.  
"And you," she wanted to know. "Where are you going?"  
"Also to Swann. He was talking about some new headset, but after he told me something about brain waves, I stopped listening. He's been spending a little too much time with Stetmann lately."  
"Because he talks about brain waves?" Erynn snorted and Matt shrugged. Then they both shook their heads at the same time and laughed quietly.

"Can I ask you a question?"  
"Sure." He nodded.  
"I don't know how to behave towards Valerian," she muttered and he sighed.  
"I had asked to be kept out of this drama."  
"But you're the only one I can talk to about it."  
"Why don't you talk to Jim?"  
Now it was her turn to sigh. "Jim is clearly the wrong address. At least when it comes to set up or fix things. He can moan, but not help." It sounded pretty hard, but Matt knew she wouldn't just say it out of nowhere. She'd probably already talked to Jim - or at least tried.  
"All right... Explain the fronts to me."  
"He wants a relationship. I don't."  
"Well, it's settled then."  
Erynn ranted at him. "Nothing is settled there."  
"Why? You don't want and stop. Well, a reason would be helpful, but you can and should not force yourself to do anything." He shrugged and she rolled her eyes.  
"What we have there is more than just an affair. It's just missing the official label. And I don't want that. I don't want to get more into the focus."  
"Are you serious?" he wanted to know in disbelief. Uncertain she looked at him. "That's the stupidest reason I'll ever hear, I guess," he explained when she said nothing. "What about feelings?" he continued. Her answer was embarrassed silence and a painful-looking chewing on her lower lip. Finally, she said:  
"From my side there is nothing. Nothing more than... deep affection. And I think there will never be real love either.”  
"Well, then the matter is really clear. I don't understand your problem."  
"And what if it could become something?”  
"You don't have to give a chance to every man. You may say _no_. Even if it hurts his most probably existing feelings." With a weak smile he shrugged. Again, she chewed on her lip.  
"I allowed him to do my hair." The way she said it irritated Matt immensely, after all he had spent hours brushing her hair in the past.  
"And that's something special, because...?", he carefully hooked on.  
"I like it."  
"Yes, I assume that..."  
"No, Matt... I. Like. It."  
"I heard it, but I used to..." She turned red and he realized. It turned her on. "Oh." Embarrassed, he cleared his throat. "And... um... why was I allowed...?"  
"For you it's different." She waved it off. "But Valerian is the first one who is allowed to do that at all. I mean, I didn't really explain it to him explicitly, but somehow... And I can also do his hair..."  
"Ah, yes..." was the only answer Matt could think of. _For you it's different._ Not for the first time Matt asked himself whether he was a man in Erynn's eyes at all. But his thoughts and their conversation were interrupted when they turned a corner and reached the main corridor to the armoury, where, as always, was a certain hustle and bustle.

\---

The door signal surprised Valerian a little, considering the late hour, but when the door opened and Matt stepped into his office, he was even more surprised.  
"What's up?" he wanted to know with a frown, somehow, he didn't suspect anything good.  
"Nothing important.” Matt forced a smile and held up a datapad. "I wanted to bring it back to Erynn, but I can't find her anywhere."  
"Picked up by Jessica earlier and giggled something about a girls' night."  
"I see." Matt made a face as if he knew all too well what was going on and Valerian had to smile.  
"Just put it on her desk."  
"Okay..." Matt nodded to him and disappeared through the connecting door. When he still hadn't shown up after a few minutes, Valerian got up and went to check. Not that he would suspect Matt of anything, but it was strange.  
In the door frame he stopped as if rooted. Matt stood at Erynn's desk, the Datapad forgotten in his hand, staring at something lying there. According to the turquoise box that stood on the side of the desk, it was some of Erynn's memorabilia which, according to his facial expression, also touched him.  
"Matt?" Valerian asked carefully. Matt flinched and he looked up, a strange smile scurrying across his face, and he carefully laid the Datapad down before hurrying out of the office. Valerian had wanted to talk to him anyway and his chance had just come. Matt was already reaching out for the door opener when Valerian finally asked:  
"Would you like a drink and some solid conversation?”  
“Solid conversation?” Matt echoed and turned around with his brow raised. Valerian shrugged.  
"Something that doesn't directly concerns the future of the entire sector or at least our little rebellion. I can't hear certain keywords anymore."  
Now Matt smiled half-heartedly. "Why not...?”

Valerians best room was much more comfortable than his office and offered the promised drinks.  
"If Erynn can have a girls' night, so can we," Valerian said.  
"What, spend an evening with a bunch of girls?" Matt asked back mockingly amused. Valerian raised up a brow and turned around halfway.  
"If we really wanted to, we could."   
Matt laughed quietly and shook his head.  
"I'd rather not."  
"Why?" Valerian curiously wanted to know and opened the bar, which hid in a pretty wooden cupboard. Matt stepped next to him and seemed impressed. Since he said nothing, Valerian continued: "I mean, we're single, young, handsome..." Matt snorted and reached for a bottle of whiskey older than Valerian. He took the matching glasses from the shelf. "What's the problem?"  
"I can think of a lot."   
Valerian suppressed a sigh and went to the sofa corner, put the glasses on the flat table and took the bottle off Matt.  
"And related to my statement? Let's face it, a nice evening with a bunch of pretty women, what's the big deal? And no, I'm not talking about any orgies."  
Matt grinned crookedly and gratefully nodded when Valerian handed over the glass of whiskey.  
"The ladies would fight to spend an evening with you. Even when there are twenty others."  
Valerian took a sip, but the aroma was somehow secondary as he scrutinized Matt.  
"You're seriously hanging onto the word _handsome_ right now."  
Matt also intensively scrutinized the amber liquid.  
"Have you looked in the mirror lately?", they asked at the same time and grinned stupidly at each other.  
"Several times a day," Valerian said seriously and had his reflection in front of his inner eyes.  
"Every morning," Matt said and seemed uncomfortable.  
"But you still know what I'm trying to tell you?"  
Matt glanced at Valerian for a second, blushed and indicated a nod.  
"Good.” Valerian let the whiskey circulate in his glass and leaned against the side wall of one sofa. "I wanted to apologize to you. Regarding my reaction to our somewhat unfortunate collision via Erynn. I was a little unfair." Actually, in Valerian's eyes, there was no reason for such an apology - except for a good portion of good-natured mockery for a few days, he had done nothing to Matt - but sometimes it was easier if you did. Matt leaned against the second sofa in the same position and looked at Valerian for a moment before saying:  
"Either Erynn told you to apologize for your joking or you want something.”  
Valerian allowed himself a faint smile. "I really wanted to ask you something."  
"Sometimes you're such an asshole," Matt returned dry and took a generous sip.  
"After all, I am grown up enough to notice it first and secondly admit it in front of you," Valerian said consciously dismissive and Matt snorted.  
"Bastard."  
"That's actually correct," Valerian remarked casually before sipping his whiskey, and Matt rolled his eyes. "Do you want to go through the whole alphabet now?" Valerian wanted to know and Matt shook his head. After taking another sip, he said:  
"For C, all I can think of spontaneously is _coward_ , and you're not."  
"Then I'll take that as a compliment," Valerian replied dryly and Matt grinned crookedly.  
"As you like."

For a moment they were holding their drinks in silence, then Matt asked:  
"And what were you going to ask me now?"  
Valerian licked his lips. "What is love to you?" Promptly Matt choked on the whiskey.  
"That's a damn good question," he coughed.  
"Oh yeah?"  
Matt nodded narrowly and emptied his glass. For a moment he stared at it and Valerian wondered if he would get an answer at all when Matt poured himself another glass and then said in a thoughtful tone:  
"Love is all sorts of things. Above all, an unbridled power. You can create wonderful, impossible things or do unbelievably bad things because of it." He paused and sipped almost adorned on his glass. "But above all, love is a feeling and feelings can only be roughly defined. Especially when it concerns more than one person."  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"It makes a difference who you love. Your family or a partner. It makes a difference whether the love is one-sided or is answered.” Those were actually two points that Valerian was aware of.  
"Have you ever been in love?" he wanted to know carefully. Matt simply nodded and looked at Valerian so critically that he would have liked to hide behind his glass, but he resisted the urge and returned the look instead.  
"You love her." It was clearly a statement and Valerian, after a moment of hesitation, opted for a simple shrug.  
"I don't know. I don't know what love feels like. What a real relationship should feel like. Erynn is the first woman in my life and I live for the first time."  
Matt smiled crookedly.  
"How did she become your adjutant?" he wanted to know. "She told me, but I'd like to hear your side of the story." Valerian nodded thoughtfully and sipped his whiskey. But this time he listened to the aroma. A hint of caramel and vanilla. He gave Matt a thoughtful smile and decided to back out a little further.

"My childhood was far from yours. My mother and I were constantly on the run, had to look over our shoulders all the time, and in the end, she was seriously ill. And when my father took me to Korhal, the struggle for survival on the political stage began." Did he really sound as distant as he just heard himself?  
"My father and I rarely talked about personal, private things, but at some point, he began to introduce me more or less subtle to women.” Matt raised a brow in amusement and smiled into his glass.  
"After a while I informed him of my opinion and he stopped it. At least... I thought so." Valerian sighed, looked at the sloshing whiskey for a moment and took a sip before he continued.  
"My father later explained to me that he wanted to give me an adjutant for my twenty-first birthday - as if one could seriously give human lives away - who would only support my command and would not be accountable to anyone, not even him. He gave me six personnel files and I immediately sorted out Erynn's file. _I don't want a secretary_." He snorted and shook his head while Matt laughed softly.  
" _Look at all the files with calm, son, before you jump to conclusions._ " He rolled his eyes and sighed.  
"Well, and then I read the file of a girl drilled into adjutant, psionically gifted, who unfortunately convinced me in the first conversation with her professionalism and in the training room with her will to learn from me. If she hadn't told me, I wouldn't have thought that my father wanted to make the decision for me, because in the end, he gave me six options."  
"Two questions," Matt said quietly and still amused. "First, what about the other candidates? And secondly, how long did it take for your father's plan to work?”  
"Oh, the other candidates were good, really good, no question. But she was the only psionic adjutant and the advantage of that is obvious, even if she may be attached to technology. I admit, however, that I didn't want a woman in such a position at my side. The image to the outside world is already heating up rumours without any facts behind it. As I said, she convinced me in the training room. The other adjutants I knew until then hid behind the bodyguards of their superiors in case of doubt, but she can definitely take care of herself. And she wasn't just surprised or impressed by my own skills, but...I don't know. Fascinated?” He shrugged.  
" _Could you kill me with a spoon? - Only amateurs need spoons._ She laughed at my simple answer! _Teach me to fight like that and I can take that thing out of my boot. It's pinching._ " Matt blinked at him in amazement and then laughed. A hearty, liberated laugh, completely carefree and absolutely honest. Valerian smiled and emptied his glass before refilling it. Giggling, Matt said:  
"At least a spoon is handier than a microwave."  
"Microwave?", echoed Valerian irritated. Matt giggled again at the memory.  
"She accidentally let the microwave detonate in a fit of rage."  
"Oh," Valerian made and Matt shrugged.  
"Nothing else happened. At least not to me."  
"You provoked her to a psi explosion?" Valerian asked incredulously and Matt shrugged again.  
"Think about how far she must have provoked _me_ before." That was a true argument and Valerian nodded thoughtfully.

"To answer your second question...", he then returned to the actual topic, "It took me a few months to try to flirt with her. I wanted her to laugh, just like when we first met. It just wasn't very successful." Strangely enough, it wasn't difficult for him to admit it, and Matt just nodded.  
"The thing is... I'm a lot taller than her and she always avoided looking up at me; the closer we were to each other - bent over some documents for example - the worse it was. It annoyed me terribly and in the middle of a discussion I grabbed her by the chin and harshly told her to look at me when she talks to me." Erynn's picture rose before his inner eye, her angry look, the surprise that followed when she looked at him, her lips opening a little as if to a reply, and then proudly raising her chin even higher. He smiled and decided to share the memory. Matt seemed surprised.  
"She was really melting."  
"It took a few more tries until I noticed," Valerian admitted, shrugging almost apologetically. Matt smiled crookedly.  
"At least you can be sure with this surprise on her face that nobody has pressed this button before." The statement made Valerian smile, but he felt it slip quickly.  
"The whole thing, this affair, was never personal. After the ice broke once, there was a sexual attraction that was regularly discharged, but no more."  
"Until...?"  
"Until you showed up." Matt questioningly raised a brow and emptied his glass. "She suddenly dropped her stoic professionalism, her always serious mask. I wasn't aware of it before, but only now I know the person she actually is." Valerian took a sip. Caramel and vanilla. He sighed.

"You love her," Matt said again and sounded utterly convinced.  
"Probably.” Valerian looked up and a fine smile surrounded Matt's lips. Compassionate? Understanding?  
"She is a stunning woman."  
"Do you love her?" Valerian asked back curiously and the smile disappeared.  
"As much as I can love my best friend, sister-in-law and wish-sister."  
"You know, Erynn said basically the same."  
"Are you astonished?"  
"No." Valerian shook his head gently. The friendship of the two fascinated him in a way he couldn't put into words, at least now that he had successfully put aside the initial jealousy. "Did you ever want to sleep with her?" The question didn't catch Matt off guard, but it definitely was uncomfortable. He filled his glass fuller than they do with whiskey, but that only revealed his discomfort more.  
"Yes," he finally admitted, and the quiet satisfaction that he had guessed correctly warmed Valerian more than the alcohol. "I wasn't very popular at school and certainly wasn't a crush for girls. And at some point, the boys I was friends with talked about nothing but girls. That was... frustrating."  
"You probably didn't tell her."  
Matt shook his head. "There are things you don't need to talk about in such intense friendships." Valerian tilted his head and looked at Matt thoughtfully. The topic touched him, he seemed as if some of the memories were indeed painful, but through their connection only melancholy was wafting.  
"Think about our friendship whatever you want, but there's nothing, absolutely nothing sexual between us," Matt then said seriously. "She's a gorgeous woman, outside and inside, but I couldn't kiss her or anything like that. The thought is just... weird. Besides..." Valerian raised a brow full of expectation, "... I doubt she even considers me a man." Something like resignation came from Matt and Valerian looked at him questioningly.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Oh, well..." Matt rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "The first time she had her monthlies, she came to me in panic. Not to her mother or at least to mine, no, to me. It took me entire twenty minutes to understand what it was all about." He blushed and then asked quietly: "And how do you think I know about her glitter toys?”  
"Um... you found them...?"  
"She dragged me into the store and wanted to hear my opinion." Valerian couldn't help it, he had to grin. And when Matt looked at him outraged, he started to laugh.  
"I'm sorry..."  
"That was the most embarrassing experience of my entire life." That didn't make it any better, but at least Valerian now understood their points of view. It cooled down his initial jealousy even more. While he calmed down to a giggle, Matt dropped onto the sofa and put his glass down.  
"Do you have more of those topics?"  
"Why?"  
"Then we should postpone it to another time. The point at which difficult questions and alcohol levels are adversely affected is getting noticeably closer." Valerian laughed again and sat down on the other sofa.  
"I think there are still enough evenings to talk about the heavy stuff."

And then they talked anyway, about everything and nothing and Valerian felt surprisingly well. For the moment they were really friends and he learned a lot about Matt. He was a gentle man who was strong for others: The Raiders, his crew and definitely and especially for his best friend, particularly if considering the moment, he had held a crying Erynn in the Medbay. Valerian suspected that a diamond core was hiding under the soft shell, but he probably didn't even want to know what it took to bring it out. Under all the discipline and sense of duty, he hid shyness and insecurity, and the longer they talked, the more Valerian came to the conclusion that Erynn and Matt were balancing each other in an almost uncanny way.

Valerian awoke from a rustling and only for his long-trained reflexes he didn’t move a muscle. Just a second later he realized that he had dozed off on the couch. Carefully the glass was taken out of his hand, he heard the soft click as it was placed on the table, and then Matt gently muttered:  
"Actually you're quite a good guy..." Valerian could hardly believe his ears.  
"Erynn has always been a strong girl and has become an even stronger woman, but you..." Matt paused before he sighed suppressed. "You're still stronger. Strong enough to make a woman like her feel safe and secure." For one heartbeat Valerian wondered if he should show Matt, he was awake, but decided against it.  
"Take care of her." Matt's voice was just a whisper. "Hopefully you're better at it than my brother, little prince." Of course, in the end there had to be a side-swipe, but Valerian hardly noticed. Matt left and Valerian wondered if the unconditional love Matt radiated was actually as asexual as he claimed.

\---

Jim's wolf shape jumped past Tychus and skilfully tore the Medic's equipment off his back. The terrified scream that the woman gave could even be heard despite the closed visor. Tychus jumped at her and wasn't frustrated for the first time in the last few days. Tigers were slow.  
His claws got caught in the white armour of one arm and tore it out of their hinges with brute force before a second jump - more a step - threw the Medic to the ground.  
Tigers were heavy. Under his mighty paws the armour dented.  
_"Come on, Tychus,"_ Jim shouted to him. _"You don't have to play with your medics all the time."  
"Ha. Ha."_, Tychus growled dryly.  
_"Proceed to the barracks,"_ Matt ordered and Tychus growled even more. Today was a bad day and everything went against his grain. Also- and above all- Matt's orders. If Matt should ever descend to transform, Tychus hoped it would be small enough to pass as his prey.  
_"Come on, Tychus!"_ A second wolf flashed past him and barked at a Marine who dared to shoot. Erynn. Not better either. Tychus growled.  
The Medic below him stirred weakly and he hissed at her before he let go of his prey. To break open the armour was possible in theory, but too time-consuming in hard practice. Should the Wargen or marines or the devil take care of it.  
His steps were of deadly elegance when he followed Jim and Erynn, graceful and smooth, but he lacked the nimble lightness of the wolves. He turned his head to the side and saw Valerian bend around a corner, flanked by two lion-Wargen. The lion was also one who sneaked up on someone and then jumped, but Valerian was much more agile and faster as a human being than Tychus. His mood sank even further.

"Stetmann!" Tychus' voice whipped through the lab.  
"Wah!” The young man squealed in horror. "T-Tychus, my goodness! I'm not deaf." Tychus registered the complaint, but simply ignored it.  
"Do you have the capacity for a little talk?" He wanted to know. Stetmann opened his mouth, blinked and nodded slowly.  
"What is it about?”  
Tychus smiled dangerously. "Make me better."  
Stetmann blinked hectically. "Better?” He managed to let his voice crack on this single word, like he was in his change of voice. "You... you are already the greatest predator, the-"  
"Stetmann."  
"Yes?” Stetmann almost whimpered.  
"Make. Me. Better." Tychus leaned forward and the scientist retreated.  
"B-but how? To what extent? Why?” He stammered and his voice squeaked again.  
"Stetmann, after all, you are not stupid...”, Tychus began friendly, but still with his somewhat inappropriate smile, and Stetmann shook his head.  
"Uh, no. And would you mind calling me Egon? Not that I would like my name, but that would be..." His voice became softer. "...less terrifying."  
Tychus laughed. "As you prefer..." He shrugged. "So… _Egon_... you're not stupid after all and I know- I can basically smell it- that you've read about our animal role models. And know what? Me too." Egon just nodded with big eyes. "Tigers are slow. Sluggish. Lone fighters with a success rate of ten percent," Tychus continued and Egon nodded again. "Make me faster. More agile. Deadlier."  
"Bu-but..." Tychus raised his hand in front of Egon's face and wiggled his fingers. Of course, he turned his hand so Egon could see the tattooed letters.  
"Give me claws, like the Wargen. I want to be able to snatch my prey myself, without an extra can opener." Egon became pale.  
"I... um..." He licked his lips and his gaze flicked over to one of the work tables. "I'm not sure if that's possible. And if so, if I can.” Again, his eyes twitched to the side and this time Tychus followed him. On the worktable stood a device that continuously shook a small glass bulb in which it shimmered purple.  
"If not you, then tell me who?", Tychus wanted to know and Egon wrung himself a smile.  
"And how about you try to adapt yourself?"  
"What, _Adapt or Die_?" Egon nodded. "Kiddo, I've been doing this for a while now, both in the training room and out there."  
"But?"  
"But evolution is slow." Tychus formed the words overly clearly and Egon nodded again.  
"Go... go to the Medbay and have some blood taken. I... um... I'll see where I can start. But Tychus!”  
Tychus, who had already turned to leave, paused. "Yes?”  
"I can’t promise you nothing.” Tychus nodded. "Especially not that you will like the result."


	14. There are always (bad) news

"Hmm, yeah, I got something ready. If you want," Swann bit into his muffin heartily, "you can try it." Tychus nodded.  
"Show me."  
"There's a sample on my desk," smiled the chief engineer. They stood at the edge of the armory and one of the technicians had brought Swann a muffin from dinner, which he now ate with delight. Tychus nodded again and stomped over to the container-like building that represented Swann's office. The desk was stuffed with all sorts of things and overwhelmed the untrained eye, especially because Tychus was not sure what he was looking for. Finally, his gaze fell on what looked like a crumpled black cloth, and since it was about the problem of nudity after the retransformation, he grabbed it. Well, the cloth turned out to be boxer shorts, black as night, smooth and shiny as silk and cuddly as cotton. The underpants had no obvious waistband and just as obviously no crumple zone for the best piece, but fine seams. Tychus examined them extensively before going back to Swann with them.  
"The piece looks like it fits a child, but not a grown man," was his first comment. Swann licked his fingers before answering.  
"Just try it on. The material is extremely stretchy, based on the suits of the Ghosts after all."  
“True to the motto _tight is a stretchy definition_?" Tychus grinned dirty and Swann rolled his eyes.  
"Take it with you and try it on and out. If it doesn't fit, give it to Valerian. Or Matt. Or Egon."  
Tychus snorted. "Do you seriously think the try on used underpants?"  
Swann shrugged and allowed himself a grin. "You don't have to tell them." Tychus slipped a quiet laugh and he wanted to turn to leave when the rumbling of several pairs of boots came in their direction. Seconds later four medics came around the corner, two of them each carrying a large armor box between them, which no normal human could lift without power armor. But the fact that one of the Medics was Anna surprised Tychus. She hadn't told him that she had gone through the metamorphosis, even though there would have been a day and a half after injecting the serum. He got a shy but satisfied grin and then she and her comrade dropped the box.  
"And, what do we have here?" Swann wanted to know with a frown.  
"Parts of our armor," explained the second male Medic, who had already turned grey. "It's a bit of a conglomeration, but we've been sitting together for the last few days thinking about how to adapt our armor to the situation." Swann's frown deepened.  
"Well, then I'll let you work in peace," Tychus threw in and typed his greeting on the imaginary hat. Anna gesticulated to him that she would come by later and he nodded to her with a smile. It was pleasing how quickly her crush for the prince was forgotten after she faced a tiger.

Although he would really advocate a bulge for his best piece, Tychus had to admit that the strange underpants were comfortable. He turned a little back and forth to look at himself in the mirror of the wardrobe door and was satisfied. His buttocks were showing off well. After he had also extensively patterned the rest of himself, he took a step back and transformed. He hadn't really noticed it before, but during the transformation they were extremely vulnerable - the soft edges of the underpants cut into the skin and the cuddly fabric rubbed. But when the tiger carefully taped around with the big paws, he realized that it had stayed obviously where it belonged. He took another look in the mirror and nodded relieved. A tiger with boxer shorts would then be too much of a good.  
_"Hey Swann, the panties fit and work!"  
"What did I tell you?"_ Swann hummed back.  
_"Thank you."  
"You're welcome."  
_Tychus had strutted up and down in front of the mirror for a while before he had turned back to himself. But when the door signal sounded, he became a tiger again.  
"Oh. Hello, you big, mighty, sweet, cuddly kitty cat!" Anna smiled tiredly at him and cuddled the fur behind his ears as she pressed against him. "So warm... and fluffy..." He growled at her and she giggled. "Yeah, yeah... But admit it, you like it. Otherwise you wouldn't greet me like this." He tilted his head and growled again, although she was right. To indulge himself as a man of such cuddling somehow seemed wrong to him, but as a tiger... Now he purred and shoved her gently against the shoulder. For a moment he wished he could communicate mentally with her so he could stay in his animal form, but then he slowly turned back as she retreated.  
"Hello Tychus," she said smiling and he smiled back before gently embracing her chin and half bending down to her.  
"Which side did you choose?" Her gaze flickered; her lower lip trembled.  
"Your side.” Irritated he blinked at her.  
"What?"  
"I'm a were-lion. Fits better to a tiger, doesn't it?” He had hoped she would have chosen the Raiders, just so he could take her with him on a mission in case of doubt, but her justification caused him a little discomfort. "I mean..." She obviously saw something in his gaze because she seemed to want to defend herself. "So as tiger and lion... that fits better than tiger and wolf and... uh... you are not a Raider, right?”  
"No," he said scarcely. "Wait, a were-lion? Shouldn't you be a Wargen?" She lowered her gaze and withdrew from his grip.  
"That... seemed too much to me. I can't..." She licked her lips. "I'm sorry."  
"Don't be sorry, honey, I'm just asking." Tychus' voice rumbled subliminally, although he had struck a soft note. Unsure, she looked up and then threw herself into his arms. Surprised, he held her tight and wondered what was going on in her pretty little head.  
"Sorry..." she muttered and took a deep breath before raising her gaze and smiling at him. "What kind of underpants are these? Looks funny."  
"Thank you, too," he grumbled and pushed her away softly, but she giggled because she realized he wasn't serious.  
"It really shows off your advantages well, but..."  
"But...?"  
"That's not your style."  
"Oh, and you know all my underpants to judge that?"  
She grinned broadly. "I've seen enough in the last few days, yes." That was absolutely right and he grinned back.  
"These are our mega-special transformation underpants. Well, the prototype."  
"Hmm. And do you always have to wear them now? So, if worst comes to worst?" Frowning, she looked at him and he shrugged.  
"Probably.” Then the penny fell. "Whereby... it’s always a matter of interpretation, isn't it?”  
A smile crept onto her face. "What if we rehearse the exception directly?"  
"I love it when you say things like that." He grinned at her and she wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him. He still kept the _Your Side_ thing in mind; but now there were more urgent things which needed his attention.

\---

Erynn couldn't sleep. The tingling of Tychus' sexual bedtime treat had long disappeared and only a certain nervousness seeped through the connection. She listened into herself and found only Valerian awake. With a sigh she stood up and wiped her hair from her face as she went to his office.  
"E-Erynn!" Surprised, he looked at her and closed his computer so hastily that you might have thought she had caught him with a porn. His red cheeks spoke for it, the nervous insecurity that emanated from him rather less.  
"You're still awake," she said and he shrugged.  
"You obviously are, too."  
"I can't sleep."  
"I see that." She wore black hot pants and a sleeveless grey shirt to sleep, her hair was already tousled. "You're pretty anyway," Valerian added, as if he had read his mind. With a faint smile she rubbed her eyes.  
"You should go to sleep," she said quietly. "I looked at the Dominion base plans for tomorrow's raid and-"  
"Not now, please." Valerian interrupted her and stood up. He came over to her and then hesitated.  
"Will you go to bed now?" she wanted to know. "You can also come with me. Maybe a little cuddling will help you fall asleep.” Her smile fell on her face when he looked at her seriously.  
"I would really like that," he said seriously, too seriously, for the moment. "I understand now that what we have doesn't need a real name, but... I still want some things to be clear."  
_Please don't say it... please._  
"I love you." He had pronounced it and Erynn lowered her gaze.  
"Thank you for your honesty," she said quietly after a moment. "I appreciate that." Nevertheless, she would have preferred it if he hadn't said it. Some things just didn't need to be said and sometimes the moment was just the wrong one. "I... I am honest too. I like you, I have deep affection for you, but it's not enough for love at the moment". Almost immediately she regretted the _at the moment_ and looked up uncertainly. He smiled and nodded to her calmly. Almost carefully he grabbed her by the hip and she had to exert herself not to flinch back. When she opened her mouth to wish him a good night, he gently kissed her. Either her cautious rejection hadn't arrived properly or he didn't care, maybe both. But she couldn't do it now, she first wanted to realize whether this not-half-and-not-entire thing should go on like this, or whether she had better end it rigorously. She gently pushed him away and caressed his cheek for a moment.  
"Good night, Valerian." Uncertainly, he looked at her, she smiled and transformed.  
"Where are you going now?"  
_"Thinking.”_

She first noticed that she was standing as a fox in the officers' quarters of the Hyperion when someone asked her irritated:  
"Egon, what are you doing here?" She shook her furry head and transformed into a wolf. "Oh, excuse me, miss." The officer she couldn’t remember a name for- Carter? Carson?- nodded to her and hurried away. But since she was here, she oriented herself briefly and then stood in front of Matt's door. She didn't know his access code, so she opened the door psionically. After she had slipped in, she returned to her human form and went into the bedroom, where a smile crept on her face. Her human self could now see quite well in the dark, even if they were just different shades of grey. But Matt lay on his stomach, his arms crossed under the pillow, his face to her, and with a smile on his lips- obviously he dreamed. Without hesitation she went to the bed and slipped to him under the blanket.  
"Hmm," he made irritated and stretched out his hand defensively, before flinching and then blinking. "Erynn?"  
"Mmmh." she agreed. He wrapped an arm around her and buried his face in the pillow.  
_"What's up?"  
"I need cuddles and I want to talk."  
"Take the cuddles, talk later. And put some clothes on."_ She sighed and got up to look in his wardrobe for something suitable, which wasn't difficult because his order hadn't changed in recent years. In borrowed clothes she slipped to him a second time, but apparently, he had already fallen asleep again, because now he turned his back to her and so she wrapped an arm around him and pressed her forehead between his shoulder blades. She ran away from one man and threw herself directly into the arms of another. With a sigh she hoped Valerian would understand by now that Matt was not an option for her, but... a safe haven, a retreat, _home_. Matt was there for her when she needed him, no matter what, and falling asleep in his arms gave her the feeling of absolute security.

Suddenly she remembered what it had been like when he had told her that he no longer wanted them to sleep in the same bed. For a week she had desperately pondered what might have been the reason. Had she said anything or not said anything? Did she do something or not? When she finally decided to ask him about it, he had first turned bright red and then mumbled:  
"I am a thirteen-year-old boy, what do you think?” For the moment, however, she hadn't been able to make any sense of it and had just looked at him irritated. "I don't want things to get weird between us because my body reacts to yours, okay?"  
"Oh." Of course, she knew he was a boy unlike her, but he was her best friend. "So you're not mad at me?"  
"Silly, of course not." He had hugged her and then everything was fine again.

Nevertheless, she seemed to have forgotten that he was a boy, because when she had her first monthlies two years later, she had run to him in her panic attack.  
“As a boy I have no clue about such things, Erynn, why don't you just go to your mum?"  
"But this is embarrassing!"  
"Yes and not for me, or what?" Still, he had always had an emergency pack of tampons in his school bag for her.

 _Wintertime was movie time. Erynn had chosen a film and now sat on the couch snuggled up to Matt. He had put an arm around her and spread a blanket over her, as always. With the heartbreaking romance on the screen, she had her arms wrapped around him and her head on his chest, and then she sighed as the couple in the movie finally told each other all the long overdue pink fluffy heartache stuff. Matt straightened up a little uncomfortably and moved his arm from her hip to her shoulders. Last week he had chosen an action film and had become extremely nervous about the oh-so-surprising sex scene, but at the moment there wasn't even a film kiss in sight and she looked up a little irritated._  
_"Everything okay?"_  
_"Hm? Yeah, sure." He smiled. "It's a little much heartache all at once." She smiled up at him._  
_"You may choose the next film again.”_  
_"Yes..." He obviously remembered the last time and looked away blushing._  
_"You don't have to be embarrassed..."_  
_He cleared his throat in discomfiture. "Always depends on who you watch such movies with," he muttered and ignored her gaze to look rigidly at the television. She giggled._  
_"Do you wish you could watch such movies with a girl you love?" That was a shot in the dark that apparently hit. Slowly he turned his head to her and scrutinized her so thoroughly that she felt very uncomfortable and actually moved a bit away from him. Watch what you wish for... came to her mind when a strange expression scurried across his face._  
_"It's okay..." he said slowly and pulled her back. She looked at him crookedly, but he pressed a smiling kiss on her forehead and so she snuggled up to him again._  
_"I love you," she muttered quietly._  
_"Love you more," he murmured back and held her tighter than before. He had fallen in love with her and he knew she had noticed it, because out of nothing he wouldn't change his words._

Erynn sighed softly. Her fingertips painted circles on Matt's skin. Unlike Matt, Valerian's chest was shaved fussy, which admittedly supported his sometimes-childish charisma, even though he consisted of a lot of handsome muscles. She caressed Matt's chest and belly until her fingertips found a fine shaved stripe of hair beneath his navel and followed it. Did he blame her for treating him like her best girlfriend all those years as a teenager? She couldn't say exactly why she had never really realized that he was a boy - or had she simply ignored it?- but that he was a man was out of the question.  
Especially when she realized where her hand was. When they had all been naked together in the lightning hall she hadn't paid attention, but what her fingertips now touched... She felt her cheeks getting warm and she couldn't resist the urge to caress it. It wasn't long before his body reacted to the touch and he sighed softly.  
What did she actually do? His sigh became a soft moan. Hard and in a respectable size he lay in her hand and twitched. A throaty sigh slipped from him and she guiltily pulled her hand back. Matt was definitely not the right target for her subliminal frustration over Valerian.

She woke up as Matt carefully pushed past her to get up.  
"Hmm?”, she made questioning, at least she hadn't heard an alarm ring.  
"Shh," he made soothing, but the opposite effect was the case and she sat up halfway. He had turned on the bedside lamp and in the warm light the morning glory was clearly visible.  
"What?”, he asked, frowning. "That's normal, you know?"  
"I'm aware." She smiled crooked and with red cheeks he stomped into the bathroom. Slowly she sat up and looked at the alarm clock he must have turned off a few minutes before the bell rang. She stretched out until it cracked, and then Matt came back with an unhappy face and still half standing. He dropped next to her and the mattress wobbled.  
"I dully remember you wanted to talk." He put his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face before turning it towards her. "So?”  
"Valerian..."- he sighed- "... told me he loves me."  
"Was about time," Matt grumbled and looked at her crookedly.  
"Is it that obvious?" she wanted to know in astonishment. "So, for outsiders?"  
"More than obvious, yes. And now?” Asking, he arched a brow and she shrugged. "What are you doing here?" he then added and now frowned.  
"I... um..." She sighed deeply and imitated his posture, but let the chin rest in her hands. "I have run away. He didn't seem to care that I didn't reciprocate his feelings with the same intensity.”  
"And now?" Matt asked again.  
"The last time a man told me that he loves me, it was a disaster," she muttered.  
"Nobody said you should marry him directly," he remarked dryly. For a moment they looked at each other in silence. "No, honestly Erynn, how shall this continue?”  
"I don't know, I really don't." She buried the face in her hands. "The way it is, it's actually quite good."  
"Then tell _him_ , too. I mean, we have a nice little rebellion going on here, but if it's won and the dust has settled behind the marauding wolves and lions, you can still consult with the emperor about where you want to stand next to him when he makes his big speeches." Matt smiled encouragingly at her and she smiled weakly back.  
"You make it sound so easy."  
He shrugged. "You just make things more complicated than they are. Who tells you that Valerian doesn't get into it more than normal just through all the stress and pressure simply because he needs a safe haven?” _Safe haven_... that was the deciding factor and she nodded.  
"You're probably right. Right now, we all need each other."  
"I didn't mean that..."  
"I know, but still. Thank you.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.  
"Nothing to thank for.”  
"Do you have any real relationship experience now or are you just giving philosophical advice?" She then wanted to know curiously and he rolled his eyes.  
"Don't worry, I'm not virgin anymore." Critically, she raised up a brow and he blushed, but she couldn't tell if he was lying.  
"Don't look like this," he said after a moment. "And if you don't believe me, ask Mira.”  
"Mira? Ah yes..."  
"Long story..."  
"I'd love to hear it."  
"Not now." He waved it off and rubbed his eyes.  
"And relationships?" she continued. Now she wanted to know.  
"One. Is the questioning now finished?” He looked at her beggingly and she shook her head, a fine smile on her lips.  
"No, Matt, the topic is not over yet. How many in total?”  
"What? women? That is none of your business.”  
"Why? We used to tell each other everything.”  
"Yes. Before." That hurt surprisingly and she lowered her eyes.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean it this way." He reached for her hand and pressed it briefly, but she pulled the hand back. "Erynn, I'm sorry, I didn't want to..." He sighed. She looked at her hands and sighed as well.  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked so directly."  
"You're right, it's not like that, we used to tell each other everything, but... my private life is practically non-existent and... well..." He shrugged and sighed deeply. "Actually, it's like before. Erynn and her men are the big topic and Matt gets the pity." Surprised, her mouth opened, but he stood up and shook his head. "Don't worry about me, I don't have a problem with it." He took off his shirt and threw it towards the bed. "And since I haven't met a woman in a while who really interests me, it doesn't matter anyway." He shrugged, took off his shorts and threw them onto the bed as well. "I’ll take a shower. And you should go to Valerian and talk." He looked at her meaningfully, but when she opened her mouth, the world suddenly moved to the side and she blinked.  
_Yes, I am a man. No, I don't have sex. Yes, I am frustrated. Especially when I have to watch you doing it. And then you have the nerves to come naked to my bed..._  
Matt's thoughts were not directed directly at her, but she heard them anyway and his horrified look told her that he was aware of it. Again, she wanted to say something, but then she was hit by a flashback from the moment she caressed him the night.  
"What are you doing?" She heard Matt's question with her ears, in her mind and she felt it as if she had pronounced it herself. But then the two were carried away by a whirlpool of shared memories, sometimes presented from one angle, sometimes the other. There were good and unpleasant moments; moments she couldn't remember; moments she didn't want to remember; always backwards through time.

 _Erynn and Matt sat on the floor of Matt's kid’s room and played with the construction set he had received for his birthday. It was their fifth birthday and Erynn was indeed most pleased with the matching outfit that they had both dressed in already._  
_"You know," she said thoughtfully, "I'm glad we're not siblings."_  
_"Why?" Matt asked back and looked up. "I would rather have you as a sister than Kenny as a brother.”_  
_"But siblings are not allowed to kiss.”_  
_Frowning, he looked at her. "Dad says kissing is for adults.”_  
_"And then why did Kenny kiss this girl last week in the playground?" Erynn asked provocatively. Matt had no answer to that._  
_"Dad said..."_  
_"Don't you want to kiss me?" Uncertainly, he looked at her and turned a component between his fingers._  
_"Dad said…" he started again and she tilted her head._  
_"I can ask Kenny, too."_  
_"No!” Vehemently he shook his head, put the component aside and glided a little closer._  
_"I love you," she said quietly and looked into his amber eyes._  
_"I love you too," he replied and looked into her grey-green eyes. And then they bent forward at the same time and their lips met for a childlike kiss._

Forehead to forehead, nose to nose, they stood there in a tight embrace and for a tiny moment Erynn wished she wasn't wearing clothes.  
"I'm not sure what I find more disturbing," Matt whispered harshly, but without moving. "That I can't remember this kiss or what you were up to."  
"I find it much more disturbing that this just happened," Erynn whispered back and almost jerkily he let her go. Checking, they looked each other in the face.  
"Where is this going?" he wanted to know and she asked:  
"What is it doing to us?" Questions to which they had no answers and if Erynn was honest, maybe she didn't want to find any.  
"Go and talk to Valerian," Matt then said quietly, wringing a smile off his face. She simply nodded and turned into a lioness.  
" _I love you,"_ she whispered.  
"I love you too."

\---

Still deeply confused and insecure, Matt entered the bridge. He was too late for the shift to begin, but he could tell from the faces of his officers that something was wrong with his own expression.  
"Any news?" he wanted to know in a neutral way.  
"Yes, sir." Jessica stepped forward and then nodded to the scanner terminal. "Now that we're in range for the detail scanner, there're two bad news."  
"Let's hear it."  
"The Dominion base is much better developed than we thought."  
"Number one, okay, and number two?" He looked at her questioningly and she sighed.  
"There's an apparently independent swarm cluster nearby." Matt sighed annoyed. The quiet hope the day could only get better disappeared.  
"Show me the scans."  
"A second scan is still running, but," she called up the result of the first scan, "here's the first outcome."  
"Thank you," he murmured and examined the map it had created. Dense forests and large tundra covered the planet. To the north of the Dominion base, which lay on a wide plain, there were snow-capped mountains, to the west a wide river flowed. On the other side of it there was a dense forest and then came the swarm cluster. The two parties were so close that they had to be aware of each other, but apparently they preferred to ignore each other. Which in turn could indicate that the non-aggressed party could suddenly interfere because it saw its chance. Matt frowned thoughtfully. The Dominion base had already been well developed on last night's scans, but the newer scans almost worried him; a base on an insignificant planet which was sparsely populated due to in-hospitability and low fertility should not be so fortified.  
"Is Raynor already aware of this?" he wanted to know.  
"Yes and no, Captain. I tried to reach him, but he doesn't answer. I can't say if he read my summary," Hughes replied from the background. Matt nodded gratefully and just reached out mentally to Jim as Erynn stepped on the bridge.  
"Good morning." Nothing about her cheerful appearance revealed that there had happened something strange two hours ago.  
"Good morning," replied the officers, and the mood rose immediately.  
"What are you doing here?" Matt wanted to know.  
"I'll stay on the bridge today. I want to learn from you," she replied with a smile.  
_"Did you talk to Valerian?”_ Her smile disappeared. _"Are you aware of the impression it gives? It looks as if you are actually running away from him. From him, or from the Zerg.”_  
_"Zerg?”_ Irritated she frowned and Matt nodded to the scan results. _"Shit."_ She put her hands on her hips and bit her lip. "Put us in.", she said then loudly and nodded to him just before she turned away. _"I will fight at his side as it should be."_ Matt looked after her shaking his head.

\---

Valerian, Tychus and Jim stood together with the Alpha-Guard beside the troop transporter and waited only for the sign to board. The briefing had been short, comprehensive and worrisome, and a small part of Valerian was glad that Erynn wanted to stay on the bridge and learn from Matt. A much larger part of him felt rejected.  
"Hey guys!" He was literally jumping.  
"Hey, Erynn..." Tychus greeted calmly.  
"Didn't you want to stay on the bridge today?" Jim asked with a frown.  
"I wanted to. But do you seriously think I would leave you alone when you first meet the Zerg?” Erynn grinned merrily, although Valerian could see she didn't feel this way. She stepped next to him, denser than necessary, and he considered it a good sign. He knew that her _thinking_ had led her straight to Matt, but now she was here...smiling insecurely, almost shyly at him. He put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the temple.  
"All right, everybody get in and get ready," Matt sounded over the comm.

Valerian's head thundered. On the one hand, because Matt and Swann made no difference in the heat of the moment to whom they shouted their commands, and on the other, because the lion had just been buried under the flying debris of a building. He moaned and felt the bones in his shoulder reassemble.  
_"Valerian?"_ Erynn asked anxiously.  
_"Everything’s okay…”_ He groaned and lifted himself onto his paws.  
_"Swann! I told you to not just let Sergeant Hammer go to the base!"_ rumbled Jim.  
_"Sorry cowboy, but the girl was unstoppable."  
"Next time, she should aim better,"_ grumbled Valerian and fought his way out of the rubble. Thank God it hadn't hit his head; he wasn't sure if a skull fracture would heal fast enough, not to mention his brain.  
_"Hammer doesn't aim.”,_ Matt grumbled discontentedly and then added: _"Advance! Units three, four and five are waiting for Sergeant Hammer!"_ Valerian shook himself and trotted off again to catch up with his Wargen he met at the next corner, involved in a somewhat strange fight.  
A dozen Wargen jumped between the flames fired by five Hellions. But the Hellions looked different than he knew them. Two Wargen jumped onto one at the same time and - as impossible as it seemed at first - tilted him to his side. While the flamethrower died on the roof, Valerian also saw why the Hellions seemed so different to him: they had only one wheel in front. Valerian heard the crack over the hissing flamethrowers, and then the overturned Hellion exploded, triggering a chain reaction that threw back the Wargen and blinded Valerian. Blinking as he watched the destruction, he was glad he hadn't interfered in the battle. Of the dozen Wargen, at least five were dead. Six, he corrected, as he gently nudged his fallen comrades. Behind him two medics already appeared and he nodded to them.  
_"Swann, have you seen the Hellions?"_ he wanted to know and Swann hummed in agreement.  
_"I did, boy. They're not new, but we haven't gotten our hands on any plans yet."  
"An absurdity,"_ Jim remarked calmly. _"I know Mira has some."  
"And why don't we have some then as well?"_ Tychus wanted to know _.  
"Because-"  
"Western units withdraw, now!"_ Matt barked and interrupted Jim's explanation. Immediately everyone focused on the fight again, but for a moment Valerian looked through Jim's eyes into a kind of hangar from which something he had never seen before stepped out. Even before he could focus on himself, Jim asked:  
_"Hey Swann, these are the Hellbats we just talked about. Am I mistaken or do they look different than the ones the Dominion usually has to offer?”_ Swann gave an annoyed grunt that had to suffice as an answer.

Valerian ducked and jumped on a Marine who staggered to the side, taking his comrade with him and then went to the ground. The Wargen that followed Valerian pulled the Gauss-rifle to the side. They were in an unusually haphazard tangle of barracks and supply depots and new Marines were constantly coming from somewhere, but fortunately only three or four of them at a time. They fought from corner to corner, until they finally stood on a wide square in front of the command center. Valerian took a deep breath and quickly looked around; not seeing any allied units was not a very good sign.  
_"Say..."_ , Tychus began, _"shouldn't there be much more soldiers here?"  
"What do you mean?" _Erynn asked back.  
_"Well... have a look at the buildings. All accommodations. But so many Marines don't run around here at all."  
"That's right,"_ Valerian remarked. Sergeant Hammer and her troops came around a corner and stopped as well. He rumbled at his Wargen and they advanced, while the siege tank buzzed and let the target pipe rotate. Then Valerian looked down as he suddenly walked over metal.  
_"This is... a gate..."  
"That's right."_ Swann hummed. _"A gate to the basement."  
"Does that answer the question where everyone went?"_ Tychus wanted to know.  
_"Possibly,"_ Jim threw in.  
_"If those were new Hellbats earlier, maybe this is a scie-"_ Erynn was interrupted.  
_"Hammer! Don't shoot!"_ Matt's voice literally whipped into Valerian's head and he flinched. _"Take the base apart for all I care, but leave the command center in one piece!"_ Probably the sergeant replied something, because Matt hissed: _"First shooting and then asking is not helpful!"_ Erynn giggled and Valerian, just like Jim and Swann, sighed.  
_"Okay, so we go in and look for any plans?"_ Jim asked.  
_"You're the boss, Jimmy,"_ Tychus replied calmly.  
_"Matt, are there any underground scans?"_ Valerian frowned and kept an eye on the gate in the ground as a precaution.  
_"Yes, there are several basements, five or six. We've already made plans for the first three."  
"Very well, then we go in. Secure the base from the outside."  
"Shouldn't someone rather stay out here?"_ Erynn wanted to know critical. Once again Valerian looked uncomfortably at the gate in the ground and nodded thoughtfully.  
_"Yes, you're right. I stay out here with Tychus. You and Jim are faster and more agile."  
"All right,"_ Jim agreed and Tychus grumbled.  
_"Whatever you say."_

\---

Inside the command center, they only met Marines until they had worked their way down to the third basement. Then suddenly even hectic scientists and half-armored technicians ran around.  
_"At the end of the corridor is a large work hall. Looks like there are three Hellbats,"_ Matt said slowly.  
_“Any idea where to look exactly for the plans?”_ Jim wanted to know, while Erynn and he knocked over a Medic together. The Marines and Wargen who came with them would take care of it.  
_"In the fourth basement there are offices and technical workrooms on the east side. There's a freight elevator in the hall; the next staircase would be a bit further."  
"Well, let's have a look then,"_ Erynn murmured and turned a corner. Several bullets pierced her body and she gasped painfully before she sank against the wall. Two Marines rushed in to shield her as she healed.  
_"Urgh, I hate that,"_ she muttered. The pain turned into a feeling of aching muscles _.  
"But self-healing is somehow nicer than dying, isn't it?"_ Tychus wanted to know amused.  
_"Sure, but it's unpleasant anyway."_ She got on her paws again and shook herself. There was quite a bustle in the hall, but the fight was over before it had really started; the Hellbats apparently weren't functional for the moment.  
_"The elevator,"_ Jim shouted over to her and she followed him to the other end of the hall. With them as many Marines and Wargen as possible squeezed onto the platform and then they buzzed jerking one floor down. There they arrived in a kind of storage where the staff had entrenched themselves in obvious anticipation of the enemy. Erynn didn't think much about it, but made a jump together with the Wargen next to her and ran for the at maximum halfway armored technicians and scientists.  
She was light and agile, jumped here and there, shredded clothes and tore flesh wounds, she bit and snarled. Jim did the same and as long as she was a wolf, she felt attached to him. To get an overview, she jumped on a stack of boxes and saw two scientists hastily disappear through an inconspicuous door on one side.  
_"Matt!”_ Immediately she jumped back to the ground and hurried behind. _"Where does the door there lead?"_  
_"To the offices,"_ was the short answer. The two men in front of her apparently hadn't noticed her yet, but as loud as they gasped and their boots clattered it was no wonder. They ran along the corridor to the very end, where one of them tried to enter a door code with trembling fingers. The other half turned around, discovered her and shrieked. She stopped and changed her shape into the tigress - one of the two men wet himself, for suddenly she smelled urine. Both stood trembling pressed against the door, unable to move, and deeply reluctant to attack two defenseless people, she did it anyway.

Five minutes later she had found three small memory chips with blueprints and stood naked and a little undecided in the small office.  
_"Um... Matt? Could you send Garrett or Cullen? I don't have any bags."  
"Sure. Why the two of them of all people?"_ He sounded more distracted than curious.  
_"Belong to Valerian's personal guards. I trust them."  
"All right.”_ She put the three chips on the floor and turned into a wolf again. Who of the two appeared at the end, she could not say in the lion-Wargen shape at all, but he nodded to her and carefully put the chips in the trouser pocket.  
_"Clear the command center. We're getting out of here,"_ Matt said a little later and then added sourly: _"No, Sergeant, we can't- shit! All units, face west! The Zerg are coming!”_

\---

Zerg. Of course, that's all he needed. Tychus growled and trotted to the new front, while Matt and Valerian discussed a retreat plan in the background of his thoughts. Erynn had found the blueprints and now all the unit had to do was leave the Command Center.  
_"Transporters and air support are on their way,"_ Matt finally said loud, but Tychus didn't listen to him. He felt the tremor of the ground, the grumble and rumble of the approaching Zerg, and finally the excited chatter of the Zerglings who ran for the Terrans first. A shrill, somehow cheerful chirping made his fur stand on end, but then the first Zerglings were already within reach of the Marines. A dull roar told him that Hammer had shot into the mess of Zerg, but that didn't seem to stop the mass of Zerglings and Hydralisks in the slightest. Finally, a Zergling jumped past a Marine and directly in front of Tychus' feet, who couldn't really be happy about the new perspective on the ugly creature.

Four defeated Zerglings later he got at least a feeling for where and how he had to start with the brown-green armor. His self-healing protected him from worse, but he was drained of his powers.  
_"What about the retreat?"_ he wanted to know, and tore another Zergling to the ground. The answer took a moment, but then Matt gave orders in a sharp tone.  
_"Tychus, Valerian and the Wargen- retreat to the transporters,"_ was his last sentence.  
_"We'll be right out,"_ Jim eagerly announced, and Tychus growled at the Zergling before tearing apart part of the armor on his neck; slimy stuff splashed in his face, but that didn't matter now either. The shrill screeching the Zergling made was extremely satisfying. It was even more satisfying when the same screeching broke off when Tychus' claws drilled into the nerve cords of the Zergling and he blew his life out.

\---

"Your food's getting cold." Matt was so engrossed in Swann's remarks on integrating the new upgrades that Valerian elbowed him.  
"Hmm? What?"  
"Your food."  
"Oh. Yes..." Without looking up from the datapad, he shoved a fork full of _something_ into his mouth.  
"You know, that's not very polite," Erynn remarked critically and he made "hmm?” Suddenly one of the televisions above them sounded the UNN melody into her resigned sigh, interrupting a jingling commercial.  
"Here is Kate Lockwell with a live special, straight from the Korhal Palace." Matt looked up and into the reporter's bright smile. From the corner of his eye he noticed how Valerian looked gloomy.  
"As the palace press officer has just proclaimed through an official press release, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk announces his engagement to Victoria Grayson. At the same time, documents were published in which he officially acknowledged Victoria's son Alexander and elevated him to prince. The question of whether Prince Alexander, after the quarrel between Emperor Arcturus and Crown Prince Valerian, is now to be appointed legal heir to the Empire has not been answered."  
The image of the happy couple and their son was superimposed next to Lockwell. The rest of her words didn't reach Matt anymore, because ice-cold anger flooded the connection and the sight of Valerian's distorted face literally intimidated him. Before anyone in the canteen could even make a sound, Valerian stood up jerkily and stalked out stiffly. The upgrades were forgotten when Matt looked at Erynn sitting across from him. On her face lay an unhappy, compassionate and somehow guilty expression.  
"You knew about it?"  
She grimaced even more. "Not directly. I knew about the relationship between Arcturus and Victoria, and I knew she had a teenage son, but the whole picture... no." Gently she shook her head. "Honestly, I assumed that Valerian knew about Victoria."  
"Didn't look like it somehow..." Matt remarked cautiously, although the raging rebel prince couldn't hear him.  
"No..." Erynn murmured unhappily. Into the silence they both looked up again to the television, where now an improvised special gossip broadcast ran, which showed again the photo.  
"Fortunately, he looks like his mother," someone at the neighboring table noticed, and Matt turned to Erynn again.  
"I hate to say it... but with a second potential heir it's probably not enough just to kill the emperor. The...", he stumbled over the word _boy_ , "the second prince will also have to… vanish."  
Erynn nodded thoughtfully. "If Valerian manages to get his anger into controlled channels, you don't have to worry. And if not... he's not the only predator here..."

\---

The next morning, Tychus received a wake-up call from Egon, but when he followed it to the lab, he found it empty. Well, at least until he literally stumbled upon the scientist who lay rolled up in his fox-form on his lab coat and slept.  
"Hey, Egon!" The fox flinched and jumped up.  
_"Oh, Tychus! Excuse me..."_ The animal stretched out until Egon stood in front of him, instantly embarrassed, picking up his lab coat from the ground and slipping into it. Egon looked completely exhausted and even his voice, which was normally overflowing with energy, was clouded with tiredness.  
"Yes, well... I have something for you here. I can't tell you exactly how good it works and how far and generally..." His bare feet splashed across the floor until he arrived at a small side table and presented a syringe with a lilac shimmer to Tychus.  
"Does it have to be reactivated?" Tychus wanted to know and frowned.  
"No. This is already based on your metamorphosis-self." Egon shook his head and put the syringe aside to take a bottle and a cotton ball from a hanging cupboard above him. "I can inject it directly into you, no problem. You just have to keep still." Of course, Tychus held still while Egon disinfected a small part of his arm and then applied the syringe. The tiny amount of liquid had just disappeared into him when Valerian reported:  
_"Meeting on the bridge in half an hour."  
"What? Why?"_ Erynn sounded alarmed.  
_"Is it important?"_ Matt asked hopefully and Tychus grinned gloatingly when he remembered that Jim had dragged the Captain into the gym with him – possible transformation or not.  
_"More than important,"_ Valerian said smugly and Tychus’ grin was replaced by an eye roll. _"I've found a ship we can steal."_


	15. Stealing a battlecruiser

"You're kidding." Matt stared at Valerian, but he just glanced back calmly. Matt turned to Erynn. "Please, tell me he's kidding." Erynn, however, didn't look convinced either.  
"You know, under other circumstances he would actually launch such an attack, so..."  
"Maybe Hammer hit his head for real…" Tychus mumbled to Jim and Valerian looked at him critically until he stepped on the star map with a frown.  
"Oh really, as if I would attack _the_ production site for all air units of the Dominion with just two battle cruisers." He snorted and zoomed to another planet in the selected system.  
"I'm not talking about Beryll, I'm talking about Beryll III." It took a load off Matt’s mind, although he joined the general frown.  
"The battle cruisers make their maiden flight from Beryll to the sister planet Beryll III with a minimal crew. There is a training camp for the crew and the ships usually stay for two or three weeks until the crew is complete and has become a bit familiar. In the meantime, the combat units also train, but they're not in maximum line-up either." Valerian called up the detailed view of the planet and pointed to an area of the northern hemisphere.  
"There is one of the few oases and thus the training camp."  
"Maybe it's a stupid question, but why don't we just grab the cruiser while it's on its way?" Tychus wanted to know and Matt shook his head.  
"The Dominion isn't stupid enough to send a brand new vulnerable ship without an escort."  
"That's right.” Valerian nodded. "Beryll III itself has an intercept station in orbit for possible intruders, but it's not excessively strong and Erynn's code generator is still active." He smiled cunningly and Erynn lifted a brow.  
"And you really think no one will notice that we're just walking through the security system?"  
"It will certainly be noticed," Jim interjected. "And the intercept station will also register the ship's identification. The question is rather: how fast do they react? How fast are we? Would it be worthwhile to dismantle the station directly?"  
"If the station is attacked, a signal is automatically sent out to the closest armed forces." Valerian explained calmly, but with a smile. "But Swann has a solution."  
_"It only cost me half my night's sleep,"_ growled the chief engineer, who didn’t even bother to appear personally on the bridge. _"But yes, I have a solution. We use the code generator to get close enough to the station to activate a signal shield that puts the station into an empty communication bubble. Depending on how the station continues to respond, we may have to drop a small force there to keep it in check, but then we can calmly take care of the battle cruiser on the ground."_  
"Shouldn't be difficult," Tychus muttered and Matt stifled a sigh. There had been enough things lately that had been labeled as _easygoing_ and had almost turned into a catastrophe.  
"I suppose there is already a battle cruiser on Beryll III...?" Matt said then and Valerian nodded.  
"The _Athena_ has been in practice mode for two days now. It's smaller than the Heracles has been, but that shouldn't be a problem."  
"It's an advantage for the moment," Jim said thoughtfully. "Means, there are fewer combat units there. But later it could be a disadvantage."  
"As for the third battle cruiser, it's more of a _have or not have_ , Jim," Erynn said quietly. "And our _have list_ is pretty damn short."  
"When she's right, she's right." Tychus nodded and lit a cigar, even though Matt gave him a gloomy glance.  
"When can we be there?" Jim wanted to know and Matt replied:  
"In two hours, if you want. But after yesterday's fight, we'd better rest another day." He grimaced for a moment. "And maybe parts of the troops should sober up first." Tychus grinned around his cigar and Valerian sighed annoyed.  
"All right. Will we be able to launch a surprise attack before dawn?"  
"Depends on how fast we get past the intercept station and when the sun rises there," Matt returned dry. Valerian looked at him angrily, but Erynn nodded calmly.  
"We can calculate backwards and then start the preparations. If we plan a sufficiently large time buffer, that's no problem."  
"Wonderful." Tychus grinned happily. "But before you start... Matt, your training session wasn't over." Matt looked at him gloomy again.  
"What do you care? It none of your business.”  
"Oh..." Tychus blew a cloud of smoke into the air. "I just want you to be prepared when you finally transform."  
"Who says I'll ever do that?" With his brow raised Matt stared at him and he smiled dangerously.  
"At some point it will be about time. And then you will notice that your evolution lags a bit behind..." For a moment it was dead quiet while Matt was searching for a suitable answer, then Jim casually said:  
"Come on Tychus, Matt is doing an excellent job here on the bridge. There's no reason to take him to the battleground."  
"Besides, who says that he's getting a battle-ready form at all?" Erynn interjected critically.  
"Our captain here may not be the biggest predator in the world, but he'll be one, I can smell it," Tychus said with his eyes pinched and had the last word.

\---

Jessica stood on the left side of Erynn when she connected her Datapad to the network of the intercepting station and cleared the way for them. Matt, standing on Erynn's other side, sighed softly and rubbed his eyes.  
"I sacrifice myself to get coffee. Who needs one?” Immediately relieved murmur rose and not two minutes later the Captain left the bridge to perform lower coffee-take service. Jessica allowed herself a smile and caught Erynn's smirk. To stay professional on the subject, Jessica asked:  
"How come you still have a sufficiently high security clearance?”  
"Well... good question..." Erynn shrugged. "The Emperor has severely limited Valerian's access, but I can move amazingly freely. That's a little scary, but I think Arcturus just wants to keep an eye on us and keep his son from doing stupid things."  
"Does Valerian tend to do stupid things?" For a moment they watched in silence as they moved closer to the station, then Erynn replied in a negative tone:  
"Now and then. But the news from the palace would be a good trigger."  
Jessica nodded understandingly. "Did you know about it?"  
"No." Erynn shook her head and pressed her Datapad to herself in a gesture seeking protection. "I mean..."  
"You don't have to say anything. Excuse the question," Jessica apologized in a hurry, but Erynn shook her head again.  
"My mistake was to assume that Valerian at least knew about his father's relationship. It wasn't spread, but it was an open secret."  
"And if he didn't _want_ to know?" Jeremy interfered.  
"Well, possible," Erynn admitted and nodded to him. "The two didn't talk too much about personal matters and Valerian is certainly not a fan of gossip."  
"What about the boy, Alexander?" Christina, another officer, wanted to know.  
"If Valerian wants to rule the Dominion, the little prince will have to disappear just like the emperor," said Erynn coolly.  
"Can Valerian do that? Kill a child?", Jessica wanted to know quietly and got goose bumps when Erynn looked at her.  
"He can eliminate a danger, in whatever form. And if he doesn't see himself in a position to do that... well, I would." Shivering silence developed and Jessica didn't ask herself for the first time whether the predator personality had an influence on the human character.

Vaughn spoke up with a very good timing: "On the Bucephalus a unit is ready to be dropped off at the station. Any other orders?"  
Erynn turned to the Comm and nodded a greeting.  
"Drop the unit and then lower into orbit with the Hyperion. Give order for all combat units to get ready and the future crew to stand by."  
"Yes, ma'am." Vaughn nodded respectful.  
"Will you fight with the others again?" Jessica wanted to know quietly and Erynn nodded curtly.  
"It’s important." Jessica didn't want to deny that and she nodded as well. She hadn't really become friends with her wolf form yet and apart from the first initial transformation she hadn't consciously transformed again. Sure, she enjoyed the advantages, but the strange connection, which went far beyond loyalty, was downright disturbing. And it wasn't just Raynor she was connected to, but Mat as well- and that was a little more disturbing on a very personal level. Would it be any different if he returned her interest? She drifted for a moment into completely inappropriate romantic- intimate imaginations and jerked when Matt asked:  
"Want a coffee?” She blinked at him and he held out a big thermo mug to her.  
"Thank you." She whispered and inside she slapped herself for her puppy eyes. But Matt just smiled.  
"Milk and sugar are over there."  
She nodded hastily and turned away, only to catch Erynn's cheering smile, which actually made her blush.  
"The station is occupied by our troops," sounded the Comm as Jessica let the third packet of sugar trickle into her coffee.  
"Hyperion and Bucephalus are on their way into lower orbit," Markus said busily. Jessica took a first sip of her sweet coffee and turned back to the action. It seemed really relaxed with all the coffee mugs everywhere.  
  
"All the troops assigned for the mission move to the transporter decks," Erynn ordered a few minutes later in her cool, relaxed command voice.  
"Captain." She turned to Matt, who raised a brow over his coffee. "I give you the command of the fleet."  
"Very well, ma'am," he replied formally, but with an amused smile that stood up to Erynn's disapproving gaze. As Erynn left the bridge, Jessica wondered if Matt would let himself be commanded in the bedroom with such a smile as well.

\---

Beryll III was a cream-colored rocky planet, interspersed with deep canyons, dotted with imaginative rock formations and a few green oases. Next to one of these was the training camp, which in fact had little to do with a military base, even if you looked at all the hangars and workshops. Unfortunately, it was deserted despite a surprise attack before dawn. And Valerian felt this to be a very bad sign.  
_"Maybe they're just all already on the ship,"_ Tychus said, deeply relaxed as always.  
_"I doubt that,"_ Jim said thoughtfully.  
_"Matt, what do the scans say?"_ Valerian wanted to know and strolled, flanked by Erynn and Jim, across the sandy ground.  
_"Not much,"_ Matt said curtly. _"The results got worse and worse the further down we went."  
"I'm not a geologist,"_ Egon interfered, _"but the dark stripes in the rock could be some kind of metal, which hinders the scanners."_ Swann gave an annoyed grunt.  
_"Before anyone gets their hopes up here, no, I can't fix that in the next five minutes."  
"Would have been too nice"_, Matt murmured and Valerian sighed.  
_"It'll work without it."_ They increased the tempo a little and while the troops gathered streamed westwards to conquer the battle cruiser, Valerian smiled to himself. In the dry heat, the lion was happy. He was happy because they finally got another ship. And together they were excited because they could fight. When the heat of the fight vanished, the disillusionment followed every time, but for the moment the adrenaline level was rising and when the Athena came into sight behind a high wall of rock resting on a slightly lower plateau, he roared to attack. His lions roared with him, Jim and his wolves howled. At the back of the neck, the fur resisted, a tremble ran through him, and the lion's instincts began to superimpose his own.  
_"Divide as discussed,"_ Matt ordered and Valerian followed Erynn, who was already hurrying away, northward.  
  
The plan was to first take the training camp in silence and then secure the Athena. _Somehow_ they followed this plan, but Valerian still had a bad feeling when the dead-looking ship disappeared behind him.  
_"Erynn, Valerian- be careful. In front of you lies a sea of rock needles which looks like walls further back. To the left of it, a canyon opens right away,"_ Matt warned, but Erynn's short thanks were blended with pain as they were covered with bullets. The pair of lions roared and, along with their Wargen and infantry, stormed forward. Valerian jumped at a Marine from behind who was firing at a group of Wargen. His claws had become longer after the last fights, so they found better hold in the joints, and so Valerian literally climbed on the back of the Marine before he was pulled back by the weight and began to stagger. Immediately a Wargen was there, gave him a thrust and Valerian jumped off, directly towards the next opponent. The Reaper, however, activated his jetpack and rose into the air, but a bold jump gave Valerian the opportunity to hit his claws into the boot joints and his weight pulled the Reaper down. The jetpack spat and seconds later the Reaper himself died, when Valerian used his claws again on a known weak point in the helmet. As much as he loved his manicured fingernails, he loved the claws more.

 _"Somehow I can't get rid of the feeling that we were expected,"_ Tychus noticed with an audible frown.  
_"Why?”_ Jim wanted to know, he sounded distracted. Valerian threw a Medic against a stone pillar with a paw stroke.  
_"Come on, Jimmy, this isn't our first robbery. The camp is empty and the troops here are prepared. Not just for a simple exercise, but really **prepared**."_  
_"Tychus isn’t completely wrong when you look at the troop movements,"_ Matt said thoughtfully.  
_"How would they know?"_ Valerian asked and fished another Reaper out of the air, catching some painful bullets.  
_"Your father may be a tyrant, but he's not stupid,"_ said Erynn, sounding strained. _"And he's not heartless enough to just throw away the lives on the destroyed battle cruisers. So he will have looked at the Heracles and he will have noticed that nobody was there anymore. Which suggests that the ship was evacuated before the collision. Which in turn means that our two ships are heavily overstaffed right now."  
"Which in turn leads to the conclusion that we are looking for a new ship for the bored crew,"_ Tychus finished Erynn’s conclusion.  
_"Or we have a traitor among us, something you can never exclude with all these people,"_ Matt remarked dryly, and Valerian grimaced. Of course, his father was not completely heartless and Victoria Grayson was politically far too insignificant to be an advantageous engagement. He knew his father, knew some of his soft, loving traits, and a mixture of anger and jealousy spread through him as he thought of his half-brother and his future stepmother.  
Stone splinters drilled into his back tore him out of his gloomy thoughts and he turned around. Behind him, one of the stone columns crashed to the ground. He blinked against the dust and looked around. To his right was a massive wall, to his left the columns had also melted into a wall, just as Matt had warned him. With him were only two Wargen in the passage and both looked at him questioningly. Critically, he looked at the collapsed column and shook his head. Climbing on it was too dangerous.  
_"Oh shit,"_ Erynn mumbled soundlessly. Valerian hadn't even noticed they had separated somewhere. _"Vikings."  
"I'm going to restructure our aircrafts a little, just gimme a moment,_" Swann grumbled busily.  
_"Um, Matt...?"_ Jim spoke up at that moment.  
_"Hmm?"  
"What does it look like on the Athena?"  
"Just fighting their way towards the bridge. The resistance is much stronger than expected,"_ Matt replied after a short moment.  
_"They should hurry. We have a discreet problem here."_  
Valerian didn't notice the problem- Jim probably let Matt see through his eyes for a moment- but he did see the three Vikings trying to transform on the narrow walls somewhere above him.  
_"Swann, what's the air support doing?"_  
" _It's on its way."_  
_"Someone who could pick us up?"_  
_"Bad idea, very bad idea,"_ Erynn exclaimed, and Valerian caught a torrent of curses not intended for the public, as well as the image of several Goliaths.

\---

Matt saw the Goliaths making their way through the Rock Labyrinth in which Valerian, Erynn and their units had become entangled despite warnings.  
He saw Jim, Tychus and their units being pushed deeper and deeper back into a canyon. And he saw their united air forces under Swann's control, who was sweating next to him on the bridge.  
"Shit..." he muttered softly.  
In one point Tychus was wrong: Matt adapted very well, albeit in a different way than the others. They got stronger, got better claws and teeth, but Matt gained control. Without disturbing the others, he could see through their eyes, glide from mind to mind and communicate without effort. He could see others' thoughts and the terminal in front of him at the same time, he could mentally listen to others and still listen to Jessica.

He saw and felt Valerian catching a ricochet. With the Vikings in both forms and the Goliaths, no Medivac would get close enough to him. A camouflaged Banshee perhaps, but she couldn't pick anyone up. Quickly he let their troop formations run in front of his inner eye and cursed silently. Erynn and Valerian had maneuvered themselves into a rather unsightly position. Then a flash of inspiration hit him.  
"Swann, how far is your latest craft project?"  
"What, the plane?" Swann raised his head and frowned.  
"Yes, exactly that."  
"Is ready for action. But we don't have anyone to fly it." The Raiders had no reserve troops and since their air forces were not the strongest anyway, all their pilots were in action.  
"Give me the ignition chip." Matt reached out his hand.  
_"Whoa, what? You're piloting a battle cruiser, not a fighter,"_ Valerian began to protest. Apparently, their spoken conversation had been heard anyway. Swann handed Matt a small chip and nodded, while Erynn mumbled tense:  
_"Matt knows what he's doing."_ He closed the chip into his fist and nodded to Jessica while he took off the headset with his free hand and handed it to her.  
_"Excuse me?"_ Valerian sounded as if he was losing his fur for disbelief.  
_"I'm a graduated Confederate Air Force pilot,"_ Matt said, trying to keep a neutral tone, but a grin plucked at the corners of his mouth. With long steps he hurried through the Hyperion, while Valerian seemed stunned.  
_"Do you really think Matt could have worked his way up as a **nobody** that fast to become captain directly?"_ Jim asked amusedly, and Erynn quietly said:  
_"Not that I knew his file from his time with the Sons of Korhal, but everyone who had the smaller missions in mind knew his name.”_ Maybe he imagined it, but Matt almost thought he could hear pride in her words.  
_"Fine,"_ Valerian finally said a little miffed. _"And when was the last time you flew?”_ Matt had no answer to that, but Tychus grumbled:  
_"Do you want to keep your princely ass or not? If so, accept his offer. If he has forgotten how to fly without wings, you might die anyway."  
"Oh Tychus, can't you just keep your mouth shut?"_ grumbled Erynn and Matt rolled his eyes.  
_"I can just leave you there, would you like it?"_ Valerian just growled as an answer.

A bit breathless after hurrying Matt let himself fall into the pilot's chair and put on the net of safety belts before he put on the helmet and started the machine.  
_"Rescue mission on the way."_ Swann had obviously set up his latest project on a banshee basis, because the vertical take-off plane took off effortlessly and left the belly of the Hyperion seconds later. Matt quickly flew over the sandy terrain and steered towards Valerian's position, half connected to Valerian, while at the same time inspecting the cockpit. He found the camouflage button and smiled grimly.  
_"Don't be surprised down there,"_ he said to Erynn and Valerian and began shooting at the Vikings on the ground, who were compelled by the obvious, albeit invisible, threat from the air to transform into their aircraft shape.  
_"Do you have enough space here at all?"_ Valerian wanted to know skeptically as Matt let himself sink deeper. He didn't answer, but instead deactivated the camouflage mode so that Valerian and his two Wargen could enter; the transporter banshee's landing skids almost touched the ground.  
"Do you want to continue fighting elsewhere?" Matt wanted to know after reactivating the camouflage mode and ascending again.  
"Yes," rumbled one of the Wargen strained. The lion-Wargen had much more problems with speaking than the wolf-Wargen.  
"Okay... _Erynn...?_ "  
_"Watch out for the Goliaths! We've withdrawn, but there's no space here..."  
"Without camouflage, we will be shot down immediately,"_ Valerian cleverly remarked from the background.  
_"How many Wargen are there with you?"  
"Eighteen."  
"Getting cuddly in here... Never mind, Erynn, Valerian's right. If he shows you the exact position, can you jump blind?"  
"Um..."  
"I can catch you in here."_ Valerian offered knightly.  
_"Even the eighteen Wargen?"_ Doubtful about the offer, Matt took a sharp turn and let the aircraft sink again, unpleasantly close to the Goliaths.  
_"How will you show the Wargen where we are?"  
"They see Erynn. That'll have to do. Or do you want to leave them behind?”  
"No."  
_Matt nodded silently, although he wasn't sure if the prince even saw it. He turned the aircraft so the door was pointed directly at Erynn's position and opened it. A look over his shoulder told him that Valerian had transformed and stood together with his Wargen ready to receive the blind jumping others.  
_"Ready?"_ he asked Erynn and Valerian.  
_"Yes,"_ both replied, and then he felt a strange hint as the two overlaid their perspectives. Then the machine rocked gently as Erynn jumped in. Matt turned halfway again and watched relieved as the great lioness turned back into a woman. She was covered in blood all over and groaned softly as she dropped into one of the seats. The first Wargen had reached the plane, but now the Goliaths had noticed that something was wrong and started firing.  
"Shit," Matt murmured and his gaze twitched across the various displays in the cockpit. Coincidental hits and ricochets made the aircraft tremble, and Matt counted the Wargen jumping through the doorway quickly and with amazing precision. As soon as the last one was inside, he took off jerkily and closed the door.  
"Sit down and hold on!"

Matt landed again with a big safety distance to the actual combat operations. All twenty Wargen joined the fight again, while Erynn shook her head weakly. Valerian had a protective arm around her shoulders and held her hand.  
"Everything all right?" Matt wanted to know with concern.  
"I got a Goliath-ricochet. Apparently, it destroyed more inside than I thought. The healing process exhausted me," she said quietly and closed her eyes for a moment.  
"Okay... we collect Jim and Tychus and then we can go back to the Hyperion."  
_"It's nice to see that someone is finally interested in us,"_ growled Tychus and Matt sighed. After a quick look through his eyes, he sighed again.  
_"And how am I supposed to get you out? There's hardly space for two Marines."  
"Behind us comes a half-covered intersection,"_ Jim said tense. _"If you're careful, you'd have to get under there."  
"Wonderful,"_ Matt murmured dryly and flew in a wide turn towards the canyon where his commander was stuck.  
_"Swann, is there any news from the Athena?"_ Valerian asked in the meantime.  
_"It's under control."_ Swann managed to make the good news sound like something bad by his busy growl. _"Merriman is powering up the engines, while the others are securing the rest."_  
_"Then our troops should retreat so far that they can secure the takeoff,"_ Valerian ordered and Swann grunted in agreement.

Jim was right and wrong at the same time. The Transporter-Banshee fit through the opening, but had to shoot a stone pillar to have enough space to land. Matt caught Tychus' angry rumble and Jim's warning howl as the Dominion troops chased after the rebels, who were finally fleeing the scene.  
"Hurry!" Valerian shouted and then Tychus' paw hammered on the doorknob as Matt carefully maneuvered the plane back into the open sky. He was more than happy about the camouflage mode, as three Vikings circled just above them.  
"Back to the Hy-" He got the word stuck in his throat when he saw through the cockpit window the camouflage field flickering and then disappearing. He had just blinked when they were already being fired at. "Can't even _something_ go smoothly here?" he muttered more to himself than to the others and let the machine tilt to the side. The answer was a scream of protest.  
"Sit down and buckle up," he hissed and dived into the canyon, followed by the shooting Vikings. As if nothing had happened, Erynn asked:  
_"Say Swann, can we change the Athena's ship identification?"  
"Sure, it's a bit fiddly, but a good programmer can do it. Why?"  
"I thought we could adjust the ship a little to us."  
"Don't you have any other worries, girl?"_ Tychus grumbled, now squeezed into one of the seats back as a human being. The aircraft made a sudden move and Valerian groaned.  
_"How about Alexander?"_ Stetmann suddenly squealed enthusiastically.  
_"No,"_ Jim promptly said.   
" _Why not?"_  
_"Apart being Arcturus second son…? Was or is a battle cruiser of the UED."  
"Oh."  
"Why Alexander?"_ Tychus wanted to know.  
_"Bucephalus was the warhorse of Alexander the Great,"_ Erynn explained, while Valerian made another tortured sound as Matt flew hectic evasive maneuvers. Not that Matt had much free thinking- capacity, but yet he said:  
_"Iapetus."  
" Bless you,"_ Tychus murmured.  
_"Iapetus is a brother of Hyperion, the Lord of the West and father of Prometheus,"_ Matt explained, and Valerian remarked:  
_"You've done your homework."  
"Of course."_ He had the plane zigzag through some stone columns, putting it steeply on its side several times and feeling a smile sneaking onto his face. And then he had to laugh when Tychus snapped:  
"Don't you dare puke on me!"  
Valerian moaned. "This isn't a roller coaster."  
"I prefer a roller coaster ride to ending as a sieve," Erynn remarked dryly. From the background, one of the Wargen asked:  
"Do you have a driver's license, Captain?”  
"No, why?"  
"Somehow that calms me right now." Jim laughed heartily and then Matt realized that he had lost a bit of orientation due to the conversation. As if Swann had read his mind, the chief engineer remarked:  
_"The baby has a navigation system. Always brings you back to the Hyperion. The button with the house symbol on the left."_  
_"What? Oh, uh... thank you..."_ Matt found the button and pressed it.  
"Route is being calculated," announced the ship's adjutant's female voice.  
"Swann and his gambling’s..." Jim murmured amusedly and Matt let the machine sink to dive under a rock bridge. The crash and the subsequent explosion, when the Viking behind them failed to make it, was clearly audible.  
"If possible, please turn around," the voice gently remarked.  
"Maybe not the best idea..." Matt murmured dryly and pulled up the machine. Someone groaned.  
"If possible, please turn around."  
"Yes, damn it!"  
"Is he seriously talking to the navigation system right now?" Tychus asked doubtingly.  
"Attention, turning maneuvers!" Matt pulled the nose of the airplane steeply upwards and let it tilt backwards, so that they shot flying on their backs over the Vikings. He quickly turned them around again and Valerian choked suppressed.  
"Woe...!", Tychus growled again.  
"You're approaching the exit."  
"Oh, thank God," Valerian groaned and Erynn sighed.  
"My poor prince..."  
"After five hundred meters, turn left." Matt had no idea how the system calculated the route, but the only turn he saw was to the right. He jerked the machine around.  
"The other left, Matt!" Jim protested.  
"Shut up, back there!" Matt hissed, evading a stone pillar and pulling the machine back up over the canyon to get an overview. Unpleasantly close in front of them, the Athena rose sluggishly into the air.  
"Hall!”  
"Yes, Captain?" His First Officer sounded much too relaxed.  
"Hyperion and Bucephalus ready for takeoff and backup fire! Withdraw all troops in well-ordered retreat!"  
"Very well, sir."

Less than two minutes later, Matt landed in one of the docking bays inside the Hyperion and closed his eyes as the rotors slowly came to a halt. The others left the transporter banshee and he took off the helmet infinitely slowly.  
_"You could have made her look a little less pierced,"_ Swann remarked lightly. _"But I have to say she survived her maiden flight well."  
"What...? Maiden flight?"_ Matt groaned and the helmet slipped from his trembling fingers; with a _clonk_ it hit the ground.  
_"Well, everything went well..."_  
Matt moaned quietly at the thought of what could have happened and tried to get out of his seat belt. Now that the adrenaline was slowly running out, he felt incredibly hollow, and a fine tremor seized his whole body, almost toppling as he jumped out of the aircraft onto the ground. The Wargen had already disappeared and someone had brought the others their clothes, for all four had just slipped into their pants.  
"I'll never fly with you again," Valerian remarked under a poisonous sidelong glance. Matt just shrugged.  
"I'll remind you the next time you enter the bridge."  
"Excuse me, but-" Every other word was swallowed by a sudden noise in Matt's ears. He blinked irritated and then an invisible fist hit him in the stomach. With a surprised groan, he crouched and barely managed to catch himself with one hand as it pulled his feet away. Then it turned black before his eyes.

Matt blinked at a slender paw. He blinked again.  
"Matt?" Carefully he turned his head and looked up - Erynn bent over him worriedly. "Everything all right?" His tongue disobeyed him.  
_"Yes.“_ A relieved smile spread across her face.  
"You're incredibly cute, you know?"  
_"Cute?"_  
She reached out her hand to him and nuzzled him behind the ears. His fur behind fluffy ears.  
_"Oh God..."_ Hastily and awkwardly, he got himself on his feet. Everything felt wrong, everything looked wrong and smelled wrong. He lifted a hand- a paw- and a whimper slipped out of his throat.  
_"What am I?"_  
"A cat," Tychus said dryly.  
_"What? I'm allergic to cats!"_ Matt lowered his paw and stared at Tychus, who had crossed his arms in front of his chest, although he was not yet fully dressed.  
"You are just as much a _cat_ as Tychus or me," Valerian said, slightly amused.  
_"Unless I’m very much mistaken,"_ Stetmann said, _"you are a lynx."  
"A... lynx?"_  
"Aaaaahh...", Tychus made enjoyable and grinned diabolically. Disturbed, Matt tried to look at himself somehow, but his clumsy attempts were interrupted by Erynn, who buried her fingers in his neck fur.  
"You're so fluffy," she purred, her face uncomfortably close to his.  
_"Hey! Stop it!"_ Matt hissed at her and scared himself the most at the sound, so the others laughed.

\---

Valerian's stomach had stopped rumbling, but he still felt a little shaky. He had already had a few unpleasant flights, but this one topped everything. But it was all forgotten when Matt suddenly transformed. And Erynn was right: the lynx was somehow cute…  
"Anyway... I'll stop by on the bridge and see we get out of here," Jim suddenly said serious again. For a moment Valerian had forgotten that her mission on Beryll III wasn't over yet. Tychus put on a shirt while walking and Erynn finally let go of Matt to put on socks and boots. Under the watchful eyes of the lynx, Valerian also dressed up, although he would have preferred to take a shower. But he didn't want to walk around practically naked and was too exhausted for another transformation.  
"See you on the bridge," said Erynn, nodded a greeting and also left the docking bay.  
_"And... um... how do I turn back now...?"_ Matt wanted to know a little miserably.  
"Since this is your first conscious transformation, you will have to wait for the retransformation." Apologizing, Valerian shrugged.  
_"Great..."_ Matt murmured anything but enthusiastic.  
"How do you feel?", Valerian asked carefully and Matt growled softly.  
_"It all feels wrong. I mean... I have a tail!”_ The same one jerked back and forth.  
"You get used to it." Valerian smiled and suppressed the urge to get on his knees and caress the little feline predator. Matt took a few insecure steps here and there, made a couple of half-hearted jumps and then sat down next to his heap of clothes with a grumpy growl.  
_"Do you have to watch me like this?"_  
"I just want to make sure everything's okay." The answer was an annoyed humming which ended in a suffocated groan. Then Matt turned back into his human form and staggered a step to the side before regaining his balance.

Deep inside Valerian, the lion began to purr with a growl and Valerian swallowed heavily. Naked and insecure, Matt stood in the middle of the docking bay and suddenly seemed incredibly vulnerable. With a grimace he looked at his hands and then looked to Valerian. The lion purred again and Valerian felt his chest vibrate.  
_Please don't..._  
Matt bent over for his underpants. "I should probably pick up a nice black panty from Swann, right?”, He asked with bright red ears.  
The lion purred a third time, this time clearly audible, and Matt looked up irritated. Valerian swallowed again and took a step back.  
"Excuse me..." Hastily he turned around and hurried away.  
He had felt this strange feeling that flooded him before.  
Back then, felt eternities ago, when Erynn had taken on her lion shape for the first time. For the lion, Erynn belonged to him.  
And the lion had just declared Matt to be his property.


	16. Lessons for the Lynx

Tychus sat in the bar and had made himself comfortable with a cigar and a drink. The atmosphere was cheerful and jolly, finally celebrating the expansion of their small fleet. And secretly they also celebrated the transformation of Matt. Tychus had somehow known, it had tickled him in the nose yesterday and he had been right. The Captain was a lynx and this circumstance amused Tychus beyond all measure, because lynxes were quite on the menu of a tiger (depending on habitat anyway). Well, said lynx sat in the middle of a cluster of people and was celebrated for his amazing flying talents - at least by the female members of the crew, which only amused Tychus even more in view of the quiet desperation Matt sent out.  
Swann sat in a corner with some of his oil-smeared mechanics discussing loudly and frolicsomely, probably celebrating their latest development the most.  
Egon and some Medics sat in another corner and discussed as well, but they seemed much more serious than the chief engineer.  
Not far from Tychus Erynn, Jim, Vaughn and Merriman sat deep in conversation. They all had their datapads lying in front of them, but at the same time they had a glass standing before them, and seemed to take things slowly.  
Valerian, on the other hand, sat at the bar and thoughtfully watched the action, but especially Matt. The longer Tychus watched Valerian in turn, the more he felt an almost negative concern in his features and wondered if anything had happened between them. Maybe even something that for once had nothing to do with Erynn. Then their eyes met.  
_"Everything all right?"_ Tychus wanted to know and raised his glass greeting.  
_"Only exhausted,"_ came the answer with a half-smile and a glass also raised to greet him. Tychus nodded and looked back at Matt, who was now smiling with a lot of tension.  
_"Could someone help me out of here?"_  
_"Why? Don't you enjoy the attention?"_ Tychus wanted to know, amused.  
_"No,"_ Matt rumbled.  
_"Just take one home with you,"_ Jim suggested and laughed at his own joke, after all the Hyperion was the only home most of them here had.  
_"You could also just reward yourself. Free your head,"_ said Erynn in a gentle, encouraging tone. Matt made an almost desperate sound.  
_"That's not my style."_  
Valerian snorted. _"You're a man, so act like one."  
"There speaks Arcturus out of you now,"_ Jim said sternly and Valerian snorted again before giving an annoyed answer, which Tychus blocked when Jessica Hall bent over with a datapad in her hand and held it under Matt's nose. Immediately he seemed concentrated, nodded to her, apologized, and - apparently discussing important things - hurried away with Jessica. Tychus grinned knowingly and emptied his glass.

\---

Matt sighed with relief and gave Jessica her Datapad back after walking down the hallway for a while.  
"Thank you."  
She smiled. "You're welcome."  
For a moment they went on in silence, then she said:  
"You shouldn't do the obvious now and go straight to the bridge. They'll find you there, too."  
"Yes..." he mumbled stretched and then shook his head. "To be honest, I'm too tired for more of those conversations." In a peaceful silence they reached the officers' quarters and Matt rubbed his eyes. He was incredibly tired, but at the same time there was so much to think about. Just as he was about to wish Jessica a good night, she laid a hand on his chest and quite definitely pressed him against the wall. Surprised, he blinked at her, but before he could find words, she kissed him already. Then she let go of him.  
"Jessica...!" A little breathless and not half as admonishing as he had in mind. But she smiled cunningly and kissed him again, shoving one hand to his neck and the tongue into his mouth; she snuggled up to him and pushed him further against the wall. He had no idea when was the last time he had actually been with a woman and suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. And then of all people it was his First Officer...  
"Come with me..." she whispered into his ear, took his hand off her hip and dragged him with her to her rooms.

And then Matt found himself in Jessica's bed. In his head, the thoughts whirled in confusion and didn't let him enjoy all the kisses and touches. He was so distracted that his erection was quite unstable, but if it bothered Jessica, she wouldn't show it to him. Only, to top it all off, Erynn's presence suddenly popped into his mind and seemed amused.  
_"Well, what do we have here?”_ Completely unnecessary shame flooded him.  
_"Could you please disappear?"_ he asked her, but he realized himself that she couldn't. They were already connected again in this strange way.  
_"Hmm,"_ Erynn made then. _"You don't seem really relaxed."  
"I'm sorry, but..."_ He shuddered as Jessica nibbled on his earlobe.  
_"Just give her what she wants."  
"She wants me."  
"Hmm, well... and obviously it's not mutual."  
"Erynn!”  
"Then give her what she needs."_ He hesitated with an answer and Erynn sighed.  
_"I don't mean it bad now, Matt, but: what a tragedy..."  
"Hey!"  
"Give me the lead."  
"What?"  
"Let me do this."_ Irritated, he felt Erynn's presence getting stronger and then she mentally pushed him aside.  
Suddenly he was a spectator in his own body, while Erynn kissed and caressed Jessica instead of him, turning her on her back and first with the fingers, then with the mouth, working his way down to her second pair of lips. Jessica gasped for air, but Erynn's cool professionalism let the last bit of arousal in Matt die.  
_"Have you ever had sex with a woman?"_ he wanted to know.  
_"No. I only do what I like myself.”  
"Oh... um... maybe you should leave the hint somewhere else..."_ Matt vaguely felt himself blush and Erynn laughed quietly.  
_"Valerian is not a big fan of it."  
_Matt's tongue swirled around. _"Somehow I can understand..."_ Erynn giggled while Jessica moaned softly in the background.  
" _You know, this is just a little bit disturbing..."_ he then added, wet hot flesh on his lips. He felt at the same time uninvolved and abused.  
_"Why? You are my best friend. And you were already in my head when I was with Valerian-"  
"We don't have to re-heat that now! If you were a man, it would be something else, but this... is just wrong."  
"Why?"_ she repeated curiously.  
_"Because you are a woman and my best friend. You know what was back then, and you're damn attractive and somehow that's..."_ He searched for words while his mouth sucked gently. _"... frustrating,"_ he finally said, although it didn't even come close to what he wanted to express.  
_"To counteract the frustration, you are in Jessica's bed right now,"_ Erynn returned soberly.  
_"Yes, but... I'm not interested in her."_ That sounded incredibly miserable.  
_"You could still enjoy it, you know?"  
"With you in my head?"_ Jessica clawed her fingernails into Matt's shoulders and he flinched; the sounds she made sounded far too loud in his ears.  
"Matt..." Jessica ran her fingers through his hair and gently pushed him away, only to pull him up to her. He wiped his mouth and chin, tried to ignore the taste in his mouth and returned her sluggish kiss.  
"Sit back," she mumbled into his ear, "close your eyes," her fingers circling his chest, "and relax."  
_"You should do what she says,"_ Erynn noticed, leaving him in control of his body again.  
_"How am I supposed to relax when you're watching me?"_ She sighed deeply and then a little Erynn-Valerian-film began to run in his head.  
_"Hey! Don't do that! Stop it!"_ Instead of an answer, she started touching herself and since Jessica cared about Matt's physical body, his body let itself down to react.  
_"Erynn, I hate you!"_  
_"Love you anyway."_ Jessica's mouth closed warm and wet around his best-piece and then he suddenly didn't care anymore about Erynn's presence when he chose the little film from the many realities that were just in his head and immersed in it.

\---

Matt felt terrible. And that wasn't because he hadn't slept enough. Also not because he didn't get the strange taste out of his mouth despite brushing his teeth several times. It wasn't because the sexual pleasure had felt extremely hollow and the discomfort had returned immediately when Erynn's presence in his head finally disappeared, so that he had fled to his own bed in the middle of the night. What was the main cause of his subliminal irritation he couldn't say as he showered, shaved and hungrily left his rooms, but the hangover Stetmann and Swann had definitely contributed. And Jim's alcohol level, which was way too high for a hangover. Had the Commander been drinking all night, or was he drinking again? With a sigh, Matt set off to have one of those horrible conversations with Jim again...

"Jim..." Matt's tone of voice contained both admonition and disappointment.  
"Matt..." Jim didn't even look up, but his collapsed posture clearly said he had been sitting here all night.  
"You know, I'd like to say this conversation is the last of its kind, but-"  
"It's not about Sarah." Irritated, Matt paused as Jim looked at him with red swollen eyes. "It's not about Sarah or Arcturus or Liddy... it's about us. About you. The Raiders." That took Matt the wind out of the sails and he sat opposite Jim.  
"And that means?"  
"Do you know how many members the Raiders have?" The number of crew members was immediately on Matt's tongue, but before he could open his mouth, Jim said suffocated:  
"Too many."  
"Too many?", Matt echoed confused. Jim seemed tortured.  
"Swann can feel every one of his technicians, mechanics, engineers and the- devils- knows- who. Stetmann is connected to all medical and scientific personnel. You can feel every single one serving on the Hyperion, including Swann and Stetmann. I am damn well connected with all of you! Every technician, every Medic, every officer, every Marine... in every corner, in every quarter. Swann, Stetmann, you... you're all always in here." When Jim tapped his temple violently with two fingers, Matt cautiously took a deep breath; Jim almost had something insane about him.  
"Doesn't that bother you at all?" The question really sounded tortured and Matt blinked.  
"Actually, I can fade that out pretty well," he replied carefully and Jim shook his head.  
"All the thousand people..." He buried his face in his hands. Matt had no idea what to say because apparently Jim had tried to numb himself - with little success as it seemed.  
"Jim, you're our commander. We need you," he started gently. "We're all here to fight the injustices of the Dominion, but you brought us together." Jim moaned softly. "For Valerian and you this is all much more personal than for most of us. We need your guidance, your fire."  
"I can't! There are too many!”  
"Without you, we're nothing more than a bunch of rebels thrown together!"  
"I can hardly think a clear thought, Matt! How am I supposed to make all the decisions you want? How am I supposed to give you orders when all the Raiders in my head are buzzing around like mosquitoes?" Jim wavered between anger and despair.  
"Valerian has twice as many people in his head. Kerrigan has millions, billions of Zerg in her hive mind!”  
"I don't give a shit, this is about _my_ exploding skull!"  
"Then give me the command!" The words were out before Matt had even thought about it.  
"You can have it," Jim growled and pulled out his Datapad. For a long moment he tapped on it wildly, then the Datapad on Matt's belt vibrated as he got several messages.  
"Now go do your job." With these words Jim hid his head in his arms on the table and Matt slowly rose.  
"See you later, Jim," he said quietly, but the answer was just a raised middle finger.

\---

To Matt's relief, Jim had only given him back the title of Second-in-Command, but basically that didn't change much, except that it calmed both their consciences a little. Nevertheless, he was worried enough to turn to Tychus and convey the brief conversation to him. _"  
He's about to collapse,"_ Tychus said worried, giving Matt more to think about.  
_"Is there anything we can do to help him?"_ The answer was long in coming.  
_"No."_

With subliminal abdominal pain, Matt reached the bridge and almost immediately frowned as he saw Valerian and Erynn standing there.  
"What have been your words from yesterday?" he greeted Valerian, who wrung himself a calculating smile.  
"Good morning."  
"Yes, yes, good morning. What’s up?" Matt rolled his eyes; Valerian's presence was not exactly conducive to his mood. Jessica's cautious smile from the background, by the way, wasn't either.  
"I wanted to make you an offer," Valerian said and his very own condescension swung in his voice.  
"One that you can't refuse?”  
"You get a little dramatic, Matt," said Erynn with a warning tone.  
"A promotion," Valerian specified, and Matt raised a brow.  
"You know," he began slowly and walked up to the star map to lean backwards against it, "I've already received more promotions than I ever dreamed of." He briefly examined Valerian. "My shoulders are not wide enough for even more responsibility."  
Erynn snorted softly and muttered: "Drama..." while Valerian smiled amusedly.  
"If we survive our rebellion, you still have a promotion or two ahead of you, I can promise. For the moment..." Genteel, Valerian examined his fingernails until Matt sighed annoyed.  
"Three battle cruisers are a fleet and a fleet needs an admiral. What do you say?”  
"You don't have the authority to-"  
"Commander Raynor has approved the proposal." Right now, Jim would say yes and amen to anything that saved him from responsibility. Valerian came a few steps closer and his attitude was full of condescension, arrogance and overconfidence. Matt would have preferred to punch him into the pretty face.  
"Well...?" Actually, all this promotion stuff was superfluous.  
"Is there no other fool who wants this post?" he asked provocatively and caught a warning look from Erynn.  
"This is not about wanting or not wanting, but about competence. Vaughn and Merriman may have a few more years of experience, but a handful of notes doesn't make a symphony yet," Valerian gave back coolly and Erynn sighed softly.  
_"Just say yes,"_ she mumbled mentally to him and Matt rumbled quietly.  
"Fine." A beaming smile illuminated Valerian's face, and Matt, still leaning on the star map, added again in a provocative tone:  
"Admiral Horner's fleet awaits your orders, Commander Mengsk." Valerian's smile froze a little, but he raised his hand and patted Matt's cheek.  
"Sounds already way better, no?"  
Matt wouldn't have let a much older man put up with this gesture, so he shot his hand up to painfully cling to Valerian's wrist.  
"Don’t touch me." Each formality was gone, instead the quiet words clanked with sharpness. He let go of the prince which stalked off after a polite nod to the others. When the door closed behind him, everyone present, including Erynn, sighed in relief.  
_"He's never too good for a little power game..."_ Erynn murmured to Matt, but outwardly she showed a smile. "So, _Admiral_... how about some fun?" Frowning, Matt straightened up.  
"Fun? I know a lot of definitions for that word by now and none of them fit the moment."  
Erynn pouted playfully. "Come on, three battle cruisers, an asteroid field, a little stardust..."  
"No."  
Her pouting deepened. "Sometimes I wonder how we managed to become best friends. You're not an entertainer." The incipient clearing of the throat and coughing made both Matt and Erynn raise their eyebrows.  
"The reaction of your crew just tells me otherwise. Does anyone want to comment on that?” Matt's gaze twitched to Jessica, who had the decency to blush, but when Hughes opened his mouth to answer, Matt quickly asked:  
"How about the stardust?” Mentally, he added: _"May I break your neck?"  
"Later, Matt, later..."_ She grinned. _"First of all, we're having fun."_

\---

"And you really think it's a good idea to let Valerian train Matt?" Tychus took a critical glance down at Erynn.  
"No. But that's why I took you with me." She smiled at him and patted his upper arm. "Besides, I wanted to talk to you."  
"Oh. And about what?” They entered the training room and Tychus frowned. Matt stood a little lost on the edge and had nothing in common with the cool captain who had stood up to Valerian in the morning.  
"About the thunderstorm that is approaching," Erynn answered his question a little late when Valerian stepped through the door at the other end and nodded to them.  
"Let's get started?" Valerian wanted to know straight away and Matt shrugged.  
"If I have to..." The two of them transformed. The lion shook his pants gracefully from one paw and then stretched his neck, while the lynx stalked tense into the middle of the room.  
"They're about to tear each other apart, you're aware of it?" Tychus repeated. Erynn nodded.  
"The best training is as real as possible."  
"I hate to tell you, but our captain had no way of training his self-healing..."  
"Since when have you been so worried about him?" Erynn raised a brow, but didn't look at him.  
"I am the only one who can eat the lynx." That drew an amused snort out of her.  
"Sure thing..." On the training field the fur shreds flew meanwhile, while the two growled, rumbled and hissed each other without ceasing. Matt was still uncertain, but determined to sell himself as dearly as possible.

"Do you have any idea why they're so hostile all of a sudden?" Erynn wanted to know.  
"How should I?" Tychus asked back.  
"You're a man and almost twice as old as Valerian, that's a lot of life experience."  
He snorted offended. "Oh, please... Animal instincts maybe?"  
Erynn grimaced.  
"Not? Honestly sweetie, I have no idea. That doesn't look to me like male impersonation."  
"No," she agreed with him thoughtfully. "But it still seems as if they feel threatened by each other."  
"On what level?”  
"On all levels.”  
Tychus sighed. "That doesn't make sense." But then he asked: "How do you feel your animal forms?”  
"I put them on like the Spectre suit," she said slowly and frowned. Whether because of the question or the fact that the lion and the lynx were now covered in blood, Tychus couldn't tell.  
"You see," he said teacherly. "For me it's like another piece of Tychus that I draw closer to myself for the moment. A step to the side. A changed perspective." Now she looked at him and, questioning, crooked her head. "Did you ask the others how they feel about it?"  
She shook her head.  
"You see," he repeated. "Maybe the two have a completely different perspective on the things..."  
"But then we'll end up with animal instincts and imposing behavior again, and I don't think it's that simple or even primitive."  
"Why not? Men are primitive."  
Erynn blinked and then snorted, half unbelieving, half amused.  
"You have to know."  
He smiled at her, all the predator he was.  
"Primitive and intelligent are not mutually exclusive. Otherwise there would be no alpha animals.”  
"Alpha animals...?" Thoughtfully Erynn chewed on her lower lip and Tychus could almost hear it rattling in her pretty little head. But then Matt gave a painful howl and Tychus turned back to the fight. At the same time, he and Erynn rushed forward, transformed and intervened. The tiger was bigger, heavier and stronger than the lion, but the lion had apparently forgotten himself and fought hard until Tychus gave him a paw stroke that would have broken a man's jaw or neck depending on the angle of impact. Valerian just moaned and staggered back. Tychus growled at him and sat down next to him in a watchful position, so that at the same time he could keep an eye on the lynx, which at the moment turned back into Matt and remained curled up on its side. He breathed heavily, and with all the blood it was hard to tell how far the self-healing process was at work, but Tychus was sure he would survive. Meanwhile, Erynn turned from a wolf to a lioness and stomped over to the lion to tell him where to get off. Tychus smiled internally at the scene and turned to Matt.  
_"Hey, Captain, you all right?"_ Matt coughed wheezing and raised himself to a forearm, then his eyes grew big as he looked at Tychus.  
_"What?”_ Since he got no answer, he turned his head to Erynn and Valerian, but they - again as humans - looked at him in amazement.  
_"Sweet mother of mercy! Can anyone tell me what's going on? What are you staring at?”_  
"Uh... your face... your snout..." Valerian started and Erynn tapped the corner of her mouth. Immediately Tychus let his tongue rush out and collided with teeth in surprise.  
_"What the...?"_ Irritated, he groped around, then Erynn sent him a picture of himself. His muzzle had somehow become longer and from his upper jaw two long teeth protruded downwards, with his mouth closed even beyond his lower jaw.  
"A... sabretooth..." Valerian sounded interested after the first surprise had given way.  
_"Nice..."_ Tychus transformed back and out of impulse he touched his mouth. "Damn nice..."  
_"You wanted a can opener, didn't you?"_ Egon spoke dryly from the background and Tychus laughed.

\---

Matt felt small, inconspicuous and extremely out of place as he stood flanked by Valerian and Tychus at the ramp of the transporter, waiting for it to let them into the fresh air. _Fresh_ , however, was relative as he realized when the transporter finally opened. It stank rotten, foul, fleshy... It stank of Zerg. His pitiful attempt to convince Valerian that his first combat mission might not be to take care of an infested Terran base had come to nothing and now he stood there trembling. He was not a fighter, not a warrior. He felt like a young kitten that was taken on the hunt by the adults, even though it wasn't ready yet. With a muffled sound the ramp clapped to the ground, not half a meter away from the creep.  
_"Let's go,"_ Tychus exclaimed enthusiastically and stormed ahead.  
_"Stay with me..."_ Valerian said severly and Matt nodded weakly. If he wanted to survive, he had no other choice.

Actually, Matt concluded a little later, he was useless on the battlefield. Whereby, he could serve as a distraction or bait, because at least he was agile and fast, which he would not have claimed of his human form. But that didn't help him too much, because the Zerglings and Hydralisks were also fast, agile and just the latter unpleasantly unerring. What he would have given to stand on Erynns place on the bridge instead! Although Erynn always put a calming hand on his shoulder, that wasn't enough. He struggled not to indulge his animal instincts, which yelled at him to run away. He fought against the disgust and the rumbling in his stomach.

A small group of mutalisks, chased by Vikings, buzzed over them, but not without releasing a burst on them, which fortunately missed. Matt jumped over the remains of a Zergling to catch up with Valerian. Erynn announced in a cool command voice, truly competing with an electronic adjutant, that half of the infested buildings had been destroyed.  
_"Finally,"_ Tychus grumbled. _"I don't need another Meinhoff thing."  
"No,"_ Jim agreed, _"but you can hardly compare that. There are no infested Terrans here."  
"Don't say that too loudly,"_ Swann noticed with a grumble. _"Otherwise they'll crawl out of their hiding places just for you."_ Tychus and Jim laughed quietly and Matt almost didn't hear a soft hiss. But before he could turn around, Valerian tore him off his paws and curled up protective around him as a hydralisk salvo rained down on them. While Matt was still struggling, Valerian already shook himself with a grunt and the sharp spikes popped out of his skin as his body repelled them.  
_"Thank you.”_  
_"No need to thank me, that's what I'm here for."_ Matt sighed resignedly. The fact that Valerian could act as protector did the prince no good. At least that was Matt's feeling, but he would gladly bear Valerian's arrogance if he came back to his ship alive.

Matt felt the rumble of the ground under his paws, though he felt the creep was moving permanently anyway. A small group of Marines had joined Valerian, him and the Wargen and began shooting as a group of Zerglings came chirping through the large hangar gates. Since the Zerglings were generally not jumpers, Matt stepped up to the strategic retreat- a pile of various crates. However, he had made the calculation without a particularly cheeky Zergling, who jumped at him from the side, fixated entirely on the prey. Twittering and howling, they went crashing to the ground, Matt felt it cracking in his shoulder, hips and ribs, but before he could think about it, the Zergling ripped his unprotected belly open, while they slipped over the ground, carried by the momentum. Although one of the Marines caught the Zergling, the sudden pain took Matt's breath away and he couldn't even scream. Gasping for air, he lay on the creep-covered hangar floor and saw stars flashing as he uncontrollably transformed back. His hand touched the wound and immediately flinched back- he didn't want to know exactly, not really. All around him there was screaming; the rattle of the Gauss rifles and the chirping of the Zerg stopped and somebody called for him, but he was too busy not to sink into pain.

_"Matt!"_ Valerian's voice whipped into his mind and he whimpered. "Matt! Look at me!" He hardly had the strength for a mental answer.  
_"I can't..."_  
"Look at me! Look at me! You can do it! I _know_ you can!" As long as Valerian was speaking, the pain faded into the background a little, but not far enough to follow his call.  
"MATT! Damn it, open your eyes and look at me! That's an order!" In Valerian's voice there was a rumble, a growl, something dangerous and Matt whimpered again, but he didn't want to and couldn't resist. He felt Valerian reach for his face and suspected that the feather-light touch must in reality be a firm grip, but opening his eyes already required all his concentration. Yet he saw nothing, because his gaze was veiled with tears of pain.  
"Matt... Talk to me! Say something!” But even if Matt had wanted to, he couldn't. There was blood in his mouth, so much blood, and he choked when he tried to swallow.  
_"I can't... please..."_ His eyelids fluttered, Valerian's face became focused and blurred again.  
"Where's that damn Medic?!" Although Valerian didn't yell at _him_ , Matt whimpered again. "Matt, listen... You have to transform. As a human, your self-healing is even weaker than as a lynx."  
_"I can't... Valerian... please..."_  
" _Please-_ what? Of course, you can!" Matt blinked at Valerian. The pretty face was distorted, a storm raged in the grey eyes and such a pouting even Erynn couldn’t manage.  
_"Please..."_  
"Transform!" New tears shot Matt into the eyes and he squeezed them shut. How should he transform if everything that held him was Valerian's voice? If everything he felt was the unbearable pain in his stomach?  
"You can do that, I know it! You are master of your body, you have control! You have to transform!” Matt just moaned as an answer and choked again on the blood in his mouth. There were other voices calling out for him, but Valerian was the only one he understood.  
"Transform, damn it! Matt! Look at me! Look at me!" Valerian's voice became louder and quieter at the same time.  
_"I can't..."_  
"You can!" The thought of why Valerian's screaming sounded so muffled slipped out of Matt's mind before he had thought it right.  
"If you dare to die now, I'll follow you to hell, I swear..." The image of his lynx shape appeared before Matt's inner eye.  
"Transform now, Matt! That's an order!" Always these orders... But Matt tried hard, called for the fluffy fur and the dainty paws, which he put on like armor. An armor that was very obviously none. Fangs and claws, ears and tail. A suffocated choking broke his concentration and the pain intensified, if possible, at all.  
"You're _not_ dying now!"  
But Matt wasn't so sure. _"I’m not a warrior..."_ he whispered to the prince.

_"I see all kinds of things in you, Matt, but no soldier. Are you sure this is the right way for you?”  
"I'm sure, Dad. Besides, I'm not going to be a soldier, I'm going to be a pilot."_

He choked again. _"Tell them I'm sorry."_

\---

_"Tell them I'm sorry."_  
Swann hadn't really realized what Matt was saying when Erynn screamed next to him.  
**"NO!"** _  
_ Sparks came from several terminals.  
**_"_ NO!"**  
With fine crackling noises fuses blew and cables burnt.  
_"_ **No..."**  
"Girl, calm down! You'll blow up the whole bridge!" Swann grabbed Erynn by the arm. Red-golden fireworks filled the bridge, some of the officers screamed in horror, and then the chief engineer caught the smell of smoke in his nose.  
"Erynn!"  
A sound like popcorn and then the bridge went dark.  
"Erynn, damn it! Stop!"  
The star map flickered and then there was a dull implosion.  
_"Jim! Valerian! Anyone! The girl is going crazy!"  
"Knock her out,"_ Jim shouted rushed. _"Knock her out and pray it stops her..."_


	17. Alpha and Omega

Matt was dying.   
Matt was dying and the only thing Valerian could do was to bring this fluffy furball to the Medivac and hope it wasn't too late. The first Medic who had reached them had taken care of the belly wound disaster as much as his supplies had allowed - which hadn't exactly been much. He pressed the lynx tighter to himself and felt its warm blood run down his stomach. The creep under his bare feet twitched, but the lynx didn't move.   
"The Medivac is at the command center," a Marine called out to him and he nodded barely. With all the debris, there was hardly any room to land, but fortunately the base wasn't oversized.

Lieutenant Morales jumped out of the Medivac in her white armor and helped Valerian in, inside Preston nodded to him in a civilian appearance. Her eyes grew big, then she frowned.   
"I'm not a vet, sir."   
"The self-healing is stronger in animal form," Valerian said rumbling and carefully laid Matt down on the stretcher to which Morales had nodded.   
"Maybe, but we can hardly help him that way."   
"He needs to transform back," Morales added, and Valerian rumbled again before dropping onto one of the free seats. The Medivac swayed a little as it turned and Preston gave Valerian a gloomy look before speaking into the Comm.   
"Prepare for emergency surgery and have blood supplies ready."   
"Prince Valerian, can you reach him somehow so he'll transform back?" Morales wanted to know and he frowned.   
"He is unconscious. You'll probably have to wake him up somehow so I can get to him." Morales nodded and fetched a small case from a compartment from which Preston took an ampoule. She drew the liquid into a syringe and Morales frowned.   
"All of it?"   
"There's a full-grown man in there," Preston returned concentrated and injected the fluid into Matt's shoulder. Immediately Valerian reached out mentally to him and grabbed him as he moved.   
_"Matt!”  
"Valerian?"_ He gave a painful groan, one paw twitching.   
_"You have to transform."  
"Why?"   
"You are dying." _For a moment it was so quiet, cold and empty in the mental connection that Valerian believed Matt had fainted again.   
_"That explains the pain,"_ Matt then said quietly, as if he had only now become aware of it.   
_"You have to transform into a human being again, otherwise Preston and Morales cannot take care of you.”_ The answer was a reluctant growl, then the lynx ears twitched. Valerian was astonished when his head turned back first - usually it all happened at the same time. The transformation hadn't reached the shoulders yet when Preston already pressed an oxygen mask on Matt's face and softly mumbled instructions to Morales. Valerian felt Matt's intense concentration and wished he could have sent him some strength, but then the transformation reached the abdominal wound and Matt groaned.   
"Help him!", Preston hissed at Valerian and he hissed back.   
"And how?"   
"Talk to him!"   
Valerian growled. _"Matt, listen, Preston and Morales are here to help you. You must finish transforming!”  
"I can't go on..." _He sounded exhausted.   
_"You can!"_ As before in the hangar, Valerian laid his hands on Matt's face. _"You can. You have to.”_ He closed his eyes, but the ugly wound would haunt him in his dreams for a long time. _"I'm sorry, Matt. I'm sorry I dragged you out there with me. But you can't just give up now, we need you."_   
Matt gritted his teeth audibly. _"You should have thought about that before, you bastard!"  
"Oh, there's still enough to curse, yeah?"_   
"Further..." Preston murmured tense.   
_"Do you think I want to die? And of all places right in your arms?"  
"Isn't that your most secret wish?"_ If anger and a little mocking quarrel helped Matt, then Valerian certainly didn't stand back.   
_"I'm not a princess."_ Matt moaned suffocated.   
_"I could make you one..."_ The lion started to listen.   
_"Keep dreaming!”_   
Valerian heard himself laughing softly. _"Not?"_ Again Matt gave a suffocated sound of himself and Morales cursed suppressed.   
_"You may be a pretty guy, but that doesn't change the fact that-"_ He hissed and Valerian looked up. Matt had completely turned back and the two women were in a hurry to work, but now he began to gasp for air and tremble uncontrollably.   
"Hold him still! Distract him!” Preston's sharp command made Valerian flinch.   
_"So, I'm pretty?"_ He turned his attention teasingly back to Matt.   
_"In my presence your dick remains in your pants,"_ Matt growled and then howled in pain, while the lion rumbled disappointedly - Valerian pushed the lion mentally far away and brushed Matt over his sweaty forehead instead.   
_"And you're pretty enough to try,"_ he said with a wink and Matt started giggling almost hysterically.   
_"I'm dying and you have nothing better to do than flirt with me?"  
"Why not?"   
“Because this is the last chance?"   
"No. There will be many more chances."_   
Matt moaned. _"Doesn't feel like it."  
"Of course,"_ Valerian said, hoping  he was only imagining the slight panic in Morales' face. From the corner of his eye he saw the Medivac dipping into the Iapetus. _"You're not dying, Matt."_ Preston cursed suppressed.   
_"How do you know, Valerian? You may be a prince, but you're not…"  
"Yes?"   
"... not..."   
"Matt!"   
"You're not..."_   
"MATT!" Valerian roughly patted Matt's cheek as he slipped the mental connection.   
"Knocked out," Morales murmured tense.   
"Do something!"   
"We're already doing what we can."   
"We can't lose him!"   
"Say this to his stomach acid, which is straight-"   
"Rosa!", hissed Preston, but Valerian gave a horrified hiss.   
"We can't lose him!"

\---

The soft murmuring became louder and formed into voices he knew.   
"... you have to eat," Valerian said sternly and Matt opened his eyes.   
"I want a- Matt!" Erynn squeaked suffocated and jumped up from her chair. The next moment Matt's face was covered with her kisses. Before he could even react, she kissed him on the mouth and Valerian cleared his throat.   
"Sorry," Erynn whispered and Matt blinked at her irritated. She had tears in her eyes and seemed almost disturbed.   
"Everything all right?" Matt asked with a rough voice and cleared his throat strained.   
"Now again, I guess," Valerian said quietly and gave him a surprisingly warm smile.   
"Okay..." His head was spinning, but he understood that he had to have a huge blackout. He was lying in the Medbay and somehow everything was hurting. Erynn reached for his hand and Valerian touched her briefly on the shoulder.   
"See you later."   
Matt sat up a little awkwardly.   
"May I...?", Erynn wanted to know carefully.   
"What?"   
"Hug you."   
"Of course, why not?"   
She sat down at the edge of the bed and gently touched his belly through a blanket and hospital shirt.   
"That's why.” An unpleasant tingling flickered through him and shreds of memory flashed in his mind.   
_A Zergling who tore him to the ground. Pain. Valerian, who shouted at him. Much more pain._   
He blinked hectically and pulled Erynn towards him. She held on to him with a sniff.   
"We almost lost you."   
"I feel like I've been chewed through and spat out, but I'm alive," he quietly said and caressed her back. Yet she burst into a relieved cry and sobbed into his shoulder.   
_"Do you remember what happened?"_ Valerian asked quietly, somehow cautiously.   
_"Not really, why?"_ Matt asked back.   
_"Maybe that's better,"_ Valerian replied hesitantly, then he sighed. _"I would like to formally apologize for having dragged you into this so unprepared. You can let your anger out on me, but believe me, Erynn has already done enough."_ Matt's mind was touched by guilt and the memory of flying objects. _"Um...and...well..."_ Suddenly Valerian seemed a little embarrassed. _"Preston and Morales will surely tell you that I've kept you alive long enough to patch you up again."  
"Thank you,"_ Matt said simply, but at the same time with as much emphasis as he could muster. _"Are you putting on a tally sheet now?"_   
Valerian laughed relieved. _"No, rather not. Unless you insist."  
"That would mean that I want to be rescued by you... So no, I don't."   
"Good.“ _They grinned at each other mentally, then Valerian withdrew. In keeping with this, Erynn straightened up and brushed Matt gently over the cheek, before she embarrassedly lowered her gaze and chewed briefly on her lower lip.   
"I have something to tell you..."   
He suspected something evil. "Yes...?"   
"I destroyed your ship."   
He blinked irritated. "Excuse me?"   
"Yeah, you know..." She kneaded her fingertips. "When I thought you were going to die... so... you said... and then... psi explosion..."   
He looked at her critically. "Erynn... on which ship we are right now?"   
"On the Iapetus. No, the Hyperion is all right so far," she hurried to say. "But the risk of any systems failing was too high. And Swann has shut it down quite a bit to be able to repair it." Insecure, she looked at him. "The bridge went down the drain and the Bucephalus and Iapetus took her in tow when we warped."   
He sighed long and deep.   
"And you need a whole new star map," she whispered, knowing full well that it was her fault. He sighed again, this time resigned, and rubbed his face.   
"Are you angry with me?" she asked quietly.   
"Swann didn't kill you, so it can't be too bad," he muttered, although he didn't even want to imagine what she had actually done.   
"Well...", she mumbled back. "No one can say he didn't try."   
"Excuse me?"   
Apologizing, she shrugged.   
"I'll leave you alone on my bridge one time..."   
"I'm sorry, Matt, really!" New tears shot into her eyes. "But I thought you were dying..."   
"Shh, it's all right." He pulled her back into his arms again. "I didn't mean it like that. Oh, Erynn... it's okay. I'm not angry with you, it's just a ship." With a whole lot of human lives on it...   
"I know, but..." She got a hiccup and to end the unnecessary discussion, he simply said:   
"I love you."   
"I love you more."

\---

The door closed behind the members of the night shift and Jessica frowned. She could still understand that Matt wasn't always on time because of all sorts of things, but Markus was otherwise reliable and- The door hissed and Matt, Markus and Erynn entered, bent over a Datapad and engrossed in conversation. Jessica relaxed.   
"Good morning, sir, ma'am," she said politely and the three looked up.   
"Good morning." Erynn smiled, Matt nodded.   
"Hughes, connection to the other captains."   
"Very well, sir!” Jeremy, who wasn't sitting properly yet, hurriedly operated his terminal and then two pictures popped up on the main screen. Vaughn seemed quite tired, while Merriman smiled in a good mood. Jessica moved one step to the side, to the still broken and black-clothed star map. Meanwhile Markus hurried to get to his place.   
"The coordinates just transmitted belong to a supply station."   
"Oh, that's the mercenary's station," it sounded from the background and Vaughn turned around with an angry frown. "Excuse me, sir," it murmured meekly.   
"Since the station has only one docking bay, the whole operation will take a little longer, but as we meet a not always punctual middleman there, that shouldn't make much difference," Matt continued.   
"In which order do we dock?" Vaughn asked and sounded even more tired than he looked.   
"The Hyperion has the lowest fuel reserves."   
"And Horner is the only one with enough flair to manually steer a battle cruiser under full fire out of such a bay, in case we suddenly have to leave." Merriman grinned happily.   
"The joke slowly gets a white beard," Matt remarked coolly and Merriman's grin faded.   
"Please accept my apologies." After a tiny but noticeable pause, he added: "Admiral." Matt nodded barely noticeably and took a quick look at Markus.   
"Prepare fleet for warp jump."   
"Very well, sir," it came from different corners and Jessica's belly filled with warmth - Matt's authority lay like a soft soothing blanket over the crew.

"It won't happen again." She jerked violently when Erynn suddenly appeared next to her.   
"Excuse me?"   
"You and him."   
"What?"   
"That was a one-time thing."   
Jessica blinked at Erynn irritated. "Why...? What...?"   
Erynn sighed suppressed. "I like you, Jessica, and therefore I warn you. He has no interest. And no, I'm not saying that on his behalf." Amazed, Jessica opened her mouth, but she didn't know what to say. Erynn frowned anxiously.   
"He doesn't have the balls to say _no_ , but that would mean you would get entangled in something that would only harm you in the end. So..." Anger flared up in Jessica.   
"He is very well -" She broke off under Erynn's stern gaze.   
"I appreciate our friendship, Jessica," she said and Jessica was smart enough to hear a discreet warning. "That's why I'm telling you. And for the same reason I don't tell you other things.” Jessica simply nodded. She, for her part, appreciated the friendship with Erynn as well, so she would push this conversation somewhere in the back corner and forget.   
"Thank you.”

\---

The news was full of the usual propaganda stuff, somewhere there was a loud argument, at another table cards were played. Tychus took a sip of beer and stubbed out his cigar. Jim and Swann had gone to the armory after dinner, Egon had been dragged by Morales to a Medic exercise and... He sighed. The barely filtered rage that Valerian and Matt radiated caused him stomach pain. He had no idea where they were, whether they were fighting mentally or directly and what it was all about, but he took a mental step back and took another sip of beer. That's been going on since Matt had almost died: either they were fighting or they were one heart and one soul.   
When Kate Lockwell talked about the Emperor's wedding preparations, Tychus shook his head and pulled a new cigar out of his case. Before he could do anything with it, someone picked it out of his hand.   
"That's not very polite, girl," he growled at Erynn, who put the cigar in the breast pocket of his shirt and sat next to him.   
"You're ruining your health."   
"Oh, it doesn't matter anymore now." He waved it off, but she didn't even notice, because she pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes.   
"The two of them drive me crazy." She didn't need to say any names.   
"Well..."   
"Shall it go on like this until we have achieved what we wanted?"   
"I doubt that." Tychus emptied his beer. "There's at least one big bang before." Erynn made a very unladylike noise, somewhere between growling and grunting, and then looked at Tychus critically. For a moment he just looked back.   
"You know, I've been thinking," she finally said quietly.   
"About what?”   
"About what you said a while ago about alpha animals."   
"Ah.” Admittedly, he had no idea what she was talking about, because lately they had been talking a lot - which, by the way, had provoked one or two jealousies on the part of Anna. Erynn threw him a knowing half-smile and pulled out her Datapad.   
"Jessica lent me a book and along with what we were talking about, I came up with an idea." Tychus leaned a little forward. "Don't laugh at me, okay?" Silently he shook his head. After what she did with the Hyperion bridge, he didn't think it was appropriate to provoke her.  
What she showed him was a drawing. On the left were the names Jim, Valerian and Tychus, connected by lines to form a triangle. Further lines formed a three-dimensional geometric figure tilted to the side - the tip pointing to the right side, where Erynn's name stood. To the right of it the figure with the names Matt, Swann and Egon was mirrored.   
"What is that supposed to represent?”   
"These two tetrahedra are the representation of our power structure."   
"Huh?"   
She pointed to the geometric figure. "A pyramid with a triangular base is called a tetrahedron."   
"Ah, and what kind of power structure?"   
"Ours." Confused and a little uncomprehending, he raised a brow. She sighed embarrassed.   
"I read about it in Jessica's book. It was actually about something completely different, but somehow it fits quite well.” She pointed to the drawing. "Alpha and Omega. Beginning and end. You were talking about alpha animals, remember?"   
"Yes, somehow. But I still don't get it. And I don't know what it's supposed to explain."   
"Jim, Valerian and you - you are Alphas. Matt, Egon and Swann Omegas," she said slowly and he nodded. He could follow this far. "Admittedly, I didn't talk to the others, but they must have some animal instincts - the whole thing only got so bad after Matt transformed for the first time." He nodded again to keep her going. "You three Alphas have clarified your ranking among yourselves."   
"But?"   
"I suppose Valerian either feels threatened by Matt, or he just regularly reminds him of his rank. And vice versa, Matt provokes Valerian constantly to make it clear that this ranking is not God-given and unchangeable.” There might well have been something to it, because the things that they regularly threw at each other's heads were sometimes hard-core going under the belt and there were moments when Tychus seriously wondered why Matt didn't simply attack the prince after the humiliation that had just taken place. The answer was probably more complex than the simple fact that the lion could kill the lynx in no time.   
"What about you?"   
"What about me? Hmm well..." She shrugged. "I am a point of connection in many ways... however you want to call it. The only woman in the group and thus an alpha female." Again, she made a somewhat helpless gesture.   
"What does Jessica's book say about that?" he wanted to know and she grinned embarrassed.   
"The book is about a completely different society, matriarchally structured."   
"Then you are the tip of this tetrahedron thing, and?"   
"The brother is the support. And the beloved is the mirror of the father." She touched Jim, Valerian and Tychus one after the other. Tychus himself raised a brow.   
"That doesn't sound very compatible."   
"No, that's why I didn't include it at all." Nevertheless, he let the words go through his mind. If that applied to the alpha side, it probably applied to the omega side as well... and as a beloved basically only Matt could be considered, which in turn might provide another reason for the disputes.

Maybe, it went through his mind when he saw a laughing Valerian enter and go to the bar with a grinning Matt, the answer was much easier. Matt seemed to tell something that Valerian enjoyed heartily. When he said something about it, Matt's answer was a raised middle finger, but the grin didn't disappear, quite the opposite.   
"Perhaps," he said, expressing his thoughts and now casting an amused glance at Erynn himself, "the whole thing is also much simpler than you think.”   
"Because...?” She looked at him questioningly.   
"Valerian was with Matt when he almost pipped out, right?"   
She nodded.   
"And I assume that somehow they talked to each other."   
She nodded again.   
"Do you know what it was all about?”   
Now she shook her head. "No. Matt can't remember and Valerian won't talk about it." A narrow smile crept onto Tychus' face. The two young men were now sitting at the bar and it was far too early for the strange sparkle in Valerian's eyes to come from alcohol.   
"What if Matt Valerian said something special?"   
Erynn frowned irritated. "And what, please? I mean, what can it be that strengthens the two in their ambivalence?”   
"Just put everything together," he said casually and played with the empty beer bottle.   
"Help me out," she asked after a moment and he grinned at her crookedly.   
"What if Matt is gay and interested in Valerian?"   
"What?”, she made suffocated.   
"Not?” Still smiling, he pulled the cigar out again.   
"What makes you think so?” She seemed almost horrified.   
"Oh well...", he began slowly and started to light the cigar, "he doesn't feel comfortable in the presence of women and whatever was there with Jessica wasn't very satisfying... I've never heard him talk about this topic even in hints. He has a best friend whom he adores..."   
"He was in love with me as a teenager," said Erynn very quietly and very seriously and Tychus nodded.   
"Maybe. But he's a fighter pilot. And the military has a tendency to bring certain preferences to light in an unpleasant way." Her face became completely expressionless.   
"Watch what you're saying, Tychus."   
"Why? Would you have a problem with it?"   
"No," she still said very quietly. "I know he likes women."   
"Hmm-hmm.", he made neutral around his cigar and watched her facial expressions as she watched the two men. Finally, she raised her eyes to Tychus.   
"If you're right, I owe you a beer every day for the rest of your life."   
He grinned broadly. "I can live with that."

\---

Egon sighed and rubbed his face. Tychus might well have been a frugal man, but as far as his tiger shape was concerned, he was extremely demanding. Egon carefully cleared away the utensils he had used for another one of Tychus' injections, and mentally just returned to his current problem as the door opened.   
"Captain," he said in surprise as the same one came in with slight discomfort. "Can I help you?"   
"I don't know. Maybe.”   
"Do you have problems with the transformation? Or the adaptation?”   
Horner frowned. "Probably the latter. Stetmann, you did make a scan of me, didn't you? Some time before and after my first transformation."   
"Right. To be able to observe more closely how you change over time. And I think it would be time for the next one." Egon tried not to show his enthusiasm too clearly, but Horner just nodded. After a moment, he said:   
"I know something's changed in here," he tapped his temple briefly, "but I don't feel like the rest has adapted after the somewhat... unpleasant events."   
Egon frowned. "Not at all?"   
Horner shrugged in a suggestive way. "My self-healing is still a slowpoke and no matter how much I train with the others, nothing changes."   
"Hmm," Egon made and thoughtfully tapped his finger against his cheek. "Hmm." Then he tilted his head and examined the captain from head to toe. "But you've adapted, haven't you?"   
"Yes, but only mentally. My... um..." He searched for words and then laboriously described what Swann had also told him. He could see and _see_ , hear and _hear,_ talk and _think_. He could lay his mind over the ship like a net and still coordinate the troop movements and stay in contact with the others.   
"You're a thinker, not a fighter," Egon summarized.   
"All well and good, but I have to be able to defend myself somehow, don't I? And I got a lynx cape and no rabbit costume." _Costume?_ That didn't necessarily sound as if he was actually in harmony with his animal form- which could be exactly the problem. Nevertheless, Egon nodded.   
"I could give you a... hmm... booster. With Tychus, it works very well." With himself, too, but he didn't have to rub it under Horner's nose. His mouth opened before he blinked irritated and then muttered:   
"I don't think that's necessary."   
"Whatever you say, sir.” Egon shrugged. "If you like, I've got some." Horner nodded a little absently and then shook his head.   
"Sorry to bother you, Stetmann."   
"Oh, no, sir, you don't have to apologize! Because of the scan... could you come back tomorrow morning? I've just had a little experiment running and the-"   
"Of course." Horner nodded and was out the door before Egon could say any more.

"Egon?" Egon flinched and almost spilled the water from the bowl that he had used as a cold-water bath for some tubes.   
"Y-You... my goodness!"   
"I didn't mean to frighten you, I'm sorry." Prince Valerian smiled apologetically and Egon carefully put the bowl down before taking off his goggles.   
"It's all right, sir. How can I help you?" First Tychus, then Horner and now the Prince. Was there anything going on he didn't notice?   
"I don't know if I really need help," Valerian said slowly. "But you have the greatest knowledge of the matter."   
"Ah, yes, well... that's right... I think." Egon cleared his throat and started playing with a button of his coat. He wasn't sure whether to ask questions or just let Valerian talk, but the decision was taken.   
"You know, the lion is not just like a second skin, it has its own personality. In a way, we share a body whose shape changes. And depending on the form, one or the other personality may be strengthened." Valerian spoke slowly, as if he had to search for the words, like for lost socks. Or as if he was fighting someone who didn't want him to speak. However, it seemed familiar to Egon - a reason why he avoided his fox form as well as he could.   
"Does it mean the lion dominates you as soon as you take his form?"   
"No. No, that's not what I meant. He doesn’t rule, no matter in what form. But then he is _stronger_. In the beginning it was only instincts, but in the meantime, we literally communicate with each other. He keeps telling me his opinion and against some things I am powerless." The prince almost seemed a little helpless.   
"So, he becomes stronger…" Egon quietly stated. Valerian nodded. "Did he do something wrong?" Egon asked carefully and Valerian laughed quietly. It sounded desperate.   
"That's an interesting phrase." He coarsely ran a hand through his hair and accidentally loosened his braid, so that the blond hair actually played around his face like a mane. "You've definitely read all about our animal figures, haven't you?"   
Egon nodded and shuddered at the memory of the moment when Tychus asked him the same question.   
"Male lions have a harem."   
Egon nodded again, waiting for Valerian to continue speaking, but the prince pressed his lips together.   
"So the lion chose a harem…?" Egon asked cautiously and was not sure where it would end.   
"He did. A somewhat dubious choice." Again, Valerian ran a hand through his hair. "I can't compete with him. When it comes to... the _chosen_ ones, I can do what I want, but I can't compete with the lion." Uncertain Egon nodded.   
"And..." He swallowed nervously. "And what do you intend to do about it?"   
"I can't do anything, Egon, that's the problem. But I thought _you_ could... You might have an idea..." Valerian bit his lip and suddenly he seemed very young again.   
"I'm afraid," Egon began slowly, "there's nothing we can do. Stunning the lion, weakening it, or anything the like, will have an effect on you too.” He hesitated. "Believe me, I know what you're talking about. The fox is also..." The fox growled angrily and Egon made a helpless gesture. Valerian nodded thoughtfully and sighed softly.   
"Thank you. At least for listening."   
"Sure." They nodded at each other silently and Valerian left the lab. The fox growled again before he curled up and dozed. But this was Egon's favorite, because when his animal side spread their mean, downright malicious thoughts, he couldn't concentrate.

\---

The lion was pissed. Valerian wasn't sure if he could or should do anything about it, but the longer the lion pouted, the more it made himself nervous as well. At some point he restlessly went up and down in his bedroom and chewed his lip bloody; if someone disturbed him now, he would hit the roof- although it might not be so bad to get out all the stress.   
Minutes later he hissed at his own reflection and slowly the pouting turned into anger. He continued to walk up and down, feeling like he was in the wrong skin at every turn. If it was Matt, of all people, who approached him next, he couldn't guarantee for anything. He undressed and the lion rumbled relieved, as if the clothes had been a bondage. Again he hissed at his reflection and then he flinched violently when suddenly Erynn asked:   
"What are you doing there?”   
"I'm nervous," he just got out before the roaring of the lion rose in his throat. Erynn raised a brow, but then he already rushed towards her and pressed her against the wall.   
"Whew! Valerian, what-"   
"You're mine." It was the lion who put the words in his mouth and a part of him protested, but it was hopeless. He had betrayed the lion to Egon and now he got the bill. "You belong to me." His hands drove over Erynn's body, his mouth kissed, sucked and licked, while she stood there a little surprised and tried to push him away.   
"No." The lion growled and he dragged her further into the bedroom with him.   
"Valerian..."   
"I am your prince. Your boss. Your lover." He whispered the last word in her ear and she shuddered.   
"Stop it..." Jerkily he turned her around in his arms and pressed himself against her back. Gently he nibbled at her neck as he opened her pants and shoved a hand in.   
"Don't..." Her resistance faded, the lion purred. With now sticky fingers he pulled her pants down before he put one hand in her neck and pushed her forward, down on the dresser they were standing in front of.   
"Don't..." she protested again half-heartedly, but a deep growl silenced her. Even the soft sound of pain when it penetrated her rudely was suppressed, but that didn't interest the lion at all. He just needed an outlet and if that was Erynn… then it was the way it was.

Breathing heavily, Valerian staggered back until he bumped against the bed and let himself fall on it. His whole body pulsated and he shivered as the lion purred contentedly, then rolled up and dozed. Erynn straightened up, her face was bright red.   
"That's it?"   
Valerian swallowed. "I'm sorry..." His words were little more than a whisper. Mentally he reached out to her and tried to tell her without saying a word what the lion was doing to him, but he wasn't sure whether she would accept it or not. She looked at him and pulled her clothes into place.   
"I'm sorry," he repeated quietly and she turned away.   
"I hope so for you."

\---

Matt was about to step into the sonic shower when he noticed a reflection from the corner of his eye. Irritated, he paused and then looked into the mirror, pausing again.   
Was that really him? He blinked at himself. And blinked again. There were muscles. Irritated, he touched his own chest and let his gaze wander up and down the reflection. There were finely defined muscles - no competition for Valerian, but more than anything he had ever dreamed of as a chubby teenager.   
Since when did he look like that? Uncertainly he thought about it, but since his morning routine had become second nature to him, he sometimes didn't even open his eyes when he reached for the sonic razor.   
Was it normal? Stetmann and Swann he didn't need to ask for, they didn't voluntarily set foot in a training room, and the others had looked like that even before the metamorphosis. Slowly he turned and took a look over his shoulder at his rear view. But before he could admire his butt, the door signal sounded.   
_"It's me,"_ Erynn said quietly. He quickly wrapped the hand towel around his hips and opened to her. A cloud of frustration and sex tickled him in the nose as she rushed past him.   
"What's wrong?" he wanted to know frowning and she sighed annoyed.   
"Valerian... do I have to say more?"   
"No." He paused. "And why are you here now? I mean, I wanted to take a shower and-"   
"I need to cool off." There was a sparkle in her eyes and he sighed.   
"What's wrong, Matt?", she asked back and he shrugged.   
"Nothing, what should it be? I just looked in the mirror." For a moment she examined him.   
"Ah. So you finally noticed it."   
"What exactly...?"   
She made a brief gesture concerning him. "You don't just look like this since yesterday."   
"I thought so."   
"Then you could now put off your dislike of mirrors slowly."   
"I have no dislike for mirrors," he gave back impudently, she raised a brow tellingly.   
"Sure.” Then she smiled and transformed. Astonished, he stared at the sand-colored lynx and slowly went to his knees.   
_"This is actually the first time I've taken this form,"_ she remarked thoughtfully.   
"Oh yeah? Why?" he wanted to know and reached out his hand to crawl the fluffy fur on the neck. Suddenly he understood why everyone always said he was cute.   
_"It has never felt right before.”_ He couldn't think of an answer to that. Instead, he also transformed - the first time actually voluntarily and joyfully. His own fur was much darker and with a strong grey cast, but the changed perspective and the lynx instincts told him one thing above all: there sat a female right in front of his nose and it smelled like sex. He took a step back and Erynn crooked her head. Then she nudged him with her paw.   
_"Catch me!"_

The captain's quarters were not overly large, but large enough for two playful lynxes. Somewhere in the back of his head he wondered if his sofas would survive, not to mention the glass side table, but it didn't really matter.   
After a long hunt, Matt transformed back, staggered to the couch and dropped on it.   
_"I’m done."_ Gasping for air he put his head to his neck.   
_"Spoilsport!"_ Erynn jumped on his lap.   
"Oof!” He groaned and buried the face in his hands while she transformed.   
"Didn't you enjoy it?", she wanted to know, breathing heavily, and he looked at her smiling.   
"Yes... but I’m out of breath now. You're exhausting."   
"Hey!” She gave him a gentle pat on the chest and then he realized she was wearing nothing more than her transformation underwear and he was completely naked. Suddenly he didn't know where to put his hands, so he spread his arms on the backrest - a little cocky, but better than touching her. She leaned back a little, causing pressure in exactly the wrong place, and looked at him thoughtfully before gently touching his cheek.   
"Could you-" His cautious request for her to stand up was interrupted.   
"You look a damn lot like Kenny."   
"We're brothers, you know?" And with his brother, she had probably sat on his lap like that many times. She still smelled like sex and that didn't make it any better; he wasn't Kenny, although he had wished for it in the past.   
"Could-"   
"I..." She had lowered her hand again and now her fingertips touched his belly.   
"I..." she started again. Her mouth moved without sound for a moment, then she mumbled:   
"I think I chose the wrong brother."   
Matt blinked. "What?"   
"I never should have dated Kenny and-"   
"Stop!" Everything about him tensed up. "We already talked about it. The topic is done." Her face told him that the topic was far from being done for her.   
"Listen to me..."   
"No. No, Erynn, the file is closed. And we have far better things to do than scratch old scars." Suddenly she looked as if she would burst into tears at any moment, but instead she stood up hastily. Almost more hastily she gathered her things together and still in her transformation underwear she slipped out the door.   
_I chose the wrong brother._ The realization came a few years too late. He loved her and would always do, but not as a woman, but as a friend, and whatever had crossed her mind... well, he didn't really want to know. Nevertheless, he buried the face in his hands.   
"Fuck my life..."

\---

Tychus was certainly not the charity in person, but when he saw the picture of misery representing Prince Valerian sitting at a bar table, he couldn't help but bring him a drink. He pushed the glass towards the younger man and sat down.   
"Tychus..." Valerian murmured in surprise.   
"What's up, Junior?"   
Valerian shrugged. "Nothing." Tychus raised a brow. He could feel a whiff of discomfort, but for everything else, Valerian had himself too much under control. Slowly he took a sip of beer, while Valerian first downed the rest of his own drink and then grabbed the second one. When he started coughing, Tychus grinned broadly.   
_"What the hell is this?"_ Valerian visibly made great efforts not to spit the stuff over the table.   
"Something for real men," Tychus replied calmly.   
_"That corrodes everything!"_   
"Then you are not hard enough.” The prince gave a rustling cough and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before angrily sparking at Tychus.   
"Cooper's special blend of an original Jim- Raynor- recipe." Tychus took a sip of beer and winked at Valerian. "Whoever makes a glass gets the next drink for free."   
Valerian snorted.   
"Matt could tell you a nice story about how some of the soldiers tried to make a drinking contest out of it. Unfortunately, I can't get the end together anymore." Tychus shrugged and then Valerian asked a little hoarse:   
"How does Jim come up with such a swill?”   
"We were young and wild. And our only concern was a Marshall named Wilkes." Those were the days...   
Valerian bravely took a second sip. Again he coughed and tears ran down his cheeks, but he didn't whine. He choked down a third sip and shook his head.   
"What a hell of a drink."   
"Well..." Tychus patted him on the back, but said nothing more. Instead, he searched for the others. Jim was wandering through the ship, Egon was in his lab and Swann in the armory. To his surprise, he found Matt in the gym and Erynn had a dark vortex coming out of her, which he preferred to not get too close to. He took a look at Valerian, but then denied his question; he wasn’t a relationship counselor. Moreover, his Datapad was pinging at this moment and the number of people who would send him a message at this time was extremely limited. _Anna._ Well, Anna could wait. He closed the short message and was about to put the Datapad back into sleep mode when he noticed the file hanging in the background. _Alpha and Omega._ Without further ado, he opened it and took a quick look at the presentation before holding it under Valerian's nose.   
"Did Erynn show this to you?" Irritated, the Prince looked from Tychus to the Datapad and shook his head.   
"No...," he said slowly and examined what he saw. "She made this, didn't she?"   
Tychus nodded.   
"But that's not quite right."   
"Why?" Tychus wanted to know and Valerian pointed to Jim's name.   
"If you hadn't noticed yet... Jim is no longer an alpha. Maybe on the battlefield, but not on the whole." He had a point, Tychus had to admit, and when he thought about the conversation between Matt and Jim which Matt had transmitted to him, he was almost surprised that Jim didn't give up all the command immediately. He switched to editing mode in the file and dragged Jim's name to the right. But as soon as the letters touched Erynn's name, they flicked back into place. A second attempt from Matt's name didn't work either, so he pulled Erynn's name completely out of the picture. The two tetrahedra merged into a three-dimensional figure that reminded him uncomfortably of the Xel'Naga artifact... He quickly had Jim and Matt switch places and then pushed Erynn back into the middle. For a moment, he just stared at the structure and hoped it was just a play. A thought construct that Erynn had taken from some trashy novel.   
Because if not... well, then Erynn stood in the way.


	18. Hear me roar

Emperor Arcturus Mengsk I sat leaning back in his desk chair, chewing on the remains of a cigar and looking at the printouts in front of him on the table. The wolf and wolf-like monsters that could be seen on several could be explained - Valerian and Raynor had stolen Project Bloodmoon and used it for themselves - but the lion and lion-like ones or the tiger? Arcturus' agents had first laboriously recovered the original reports from the remains of the research station and then assembled them, but what he knew simply did not fit together…

He finally threw the burnt-out cigar into the ashtray and turned to the silent signal which had been indicating for twenty minutes that someone was waiting outside the door. Said _someone_ turned out to be some kind of animal expert, but Arcturus wasn't interested in the name or the exact job title of the slim man with the thinning mousebrown hair and oversized glasses. He gave him a brief hint that he was allowed to take a seat in one of the visitor chairs on the other side of the massive desk and then nodded to him asking:  
"So... what can you tell me?"  
The man cleared his throat. "I have identified seven different animals, the tigers, the wolves and the lions each being a pair. Only the lynx is-" The man interrupted himself when he saw Arcturus' frown. "Sir?" But Arcturus let his gaze wander over the printouts in front of him and his frown deepened. He had not been informed of any lynx.  
"Please show me the most significant material you have used for your interpretation," he said in an interested tone and shoved the printouts aside. The scientist hastily pulled a thin folder out of his briefcase and pushed a few pictures towards his emperor.  
"It would be these, sir."  
Arcturus carefully examined the only photograph that apparently showed the lynx. It had been taken by a building camera and in the background, one could see infested buildings. Interesting. The small group of rebels around his son had not only stolen a battle cruiser and cheerfully attacked the weaker military bases of the Dominion, but apparently also took care of infestations. But why did the lynx appear only once? Why so much later than the others? And where did these animals come from? He asked the latter question loudly and the scientist gave a slight cough.  
"Tarsonis and some other wealthy planets ordered an animal ark from Earth about one hundred and fifty years ago. For zoos and the like."  
"As strange as James Raynor sometimes thinks, but I doubt that the man stole the animals from a zoo," Arcturus commented this information dryly and the man hinted a shrug.  
"Science surely has fully decoded genomes of these animals, but cloning a higher mammal is still difficult."  
"So, what do you think of _this_?" Arcturus gave the man a photo and he became pale.  
"That's... impossible."  
"And yet there are photographs of this strange being..."  
The man swallowed. "Sir, this is a full-grown tiger with the snout of a saber-tooth."  
"That's what they told me, yes." Arcturus took a new cigar, beheaded it carefully and lit it slowly while the scientist studied the printout.  
"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't explain it to you. The stripe pattern tells me it's the same male tiger as on the other shots, but the mutation of the snout..." A somewhat helpless gesture with trembling fingers followed as Arcturus slowly blew out the smoke.  
"A mutated clone?"  
The man became even more pale. "It would be the only theoretical explanation, but..."  
"But...?" Arcturus raised a brow.  
"I'm not sure if the Dominion is able to do this", was the quiet answer and that was possibly answer enough. There were other parties in the Koprulu sector and Valerian's crooked interest in science probably let him know where such things were possible.

Later, when Arcturus had made enough people feel his displeasure that he had not been promptly informed of all the news in this case, a ghost entered his office.  
"Agent -"  
"Sit down," he interrupted Nova harshly. For a tiny moment she seemed alarmingly surprised, then she complied with his request.  
"Sir...?" He watched for a moment the lifting and lowering of her breasts as she breathed, looked at the slightly pinched expression on her pretty face, and then asked:  
"What can you tell me about the animals my son got for himself?”  
"I can only judge them from inferior video footage, but they are dangerous deadly predators. They are intelligent and act in coordination with the rest of the troops." That was a little _too_ short and scarce for Arcturus' taste.  
"Coordinated like the Zerg?"  
"No. They're intelligent on their own. I suppose they can communicate somehow, because these... _Wargen_ seem to follow their orders." Nova almost disgustedly frowned.  
"Have you seen any other structures?"  
"I have scanned Dr. George's report. There may be three identified pairs, but I don't remember ever seeing them all together."  
"Meaning?"  
"The lion couple is to be seen several times together, also the wolf couple, but just as frequently a tiger and a wolf seem to work together. The lynx has appeared up to now only once and on the few photographs, which we have at all from the infested basis, he is in company of the lion.” All this raised more questions than it answered.  
"Did you notice anything else?"  
"Yes, sir." Nova nodded seriously. "The animals heal."  
Arcturus blinked at her irritated. "What does it mean?"  
"Various recordings prove that the animals have an incredible self-healing ability. From Beryll III, for example, there is a video of a Goliath which shows how a tiger is literally sifted with bullets. He lies there motionless for about half a minute, then he jumps up and continues to fight bright and shiny." Nova shuddered. "Such a thing should be impossible.”  
“It should...", Arcturus agreed to her thoughtfully. The Bloodmoon reports had talked about self-healing, but this referred to the so-called Wargen, which in common parlance would probably have been called werewolves. And werewolves were people who transformed. So, what if these other animals were another form of these werewolves...? Arcturus rose and barely noticed how Nova also rose jerkily. He stepped in front of one of the big windows and looked out for a moment at Augustgrad.

Valerian and Raynor were an interesting team that had stolen potentially dangerous science. Valerian's adjutant was half a ghost, and if Horner was still Raynor's right hand - which one had to assume quite honestly - there was a load of finesse. And then there was Findlay, the convict who was as intelligent as he was brutal. Five rebels against an emperor. The emperor turned away from the window and his gaze grazed the painting on the wall. It had been made from a photograph and showed him and Valerian holding a wolf-adorned insignia. The wolf was the symbol of the House of Mengsk - perhaps that’s why Valerian had been attracted to Project Bloodmoon. A wolf, werewolves, Wargen. Following an intuition, he stepped behind his desk again and hastily flipped through Dr. George's report, ignoring Nova's questioning face. He did not find what he was looking for.  
"How many of these animals are fighting together?"  
"That's hard to say, sir," Nova said slowly. "We don't have any contiguous combat footage. But there's always a lion, a tiger and a wolf present, in different combinations with the females."  
"Are the females to be seen together?"  
"I'm not sure, but I don't think so."  
"What about the lynx?"   
"Until now only once made an appearance, a possibly belonging female still not at all."  
Arcturus dropped the report on the desk. A lion, a wolf, a tiger, a lynx - four males. The rebels were led by four men and one psionically gifted woman. A coincidence that gave Arcturus goose bumps.  
"Agent!" he snapped and Nova took a stance.  
"Sir!"  
"Get me one of those animals. Alive."  
"Very well, sir."  
He just nodded to her, she saluted and left his office. When the door closed behind the strongest ghost the Dominion had to offer, he let himself sink into his armchair and looked again at the painting.  
As far as Raynor was concerned, he could roughly estimate what the man was willing to sacrifice. He wasn't so sure about his own son. He had occasionally noticed characteristics in Valerian that had taken him by surprise, and when the circle of rebels influenced each other, a young man could still be changed. Either way- making Valerian an enemy had been a mistake. The only question was how serious this mistake would prove to be in the end.

\---

"Incoming transmission."  
"Patch it through."  
"Hello, Matthew..."  
"Hello Mira..." Matt sighed inside when Mira purred at him.  
"You're not on the bridge," she noticed and a sparkle crept into her eyes.  
"No." He didn't necessarily have to rub it under her nose that the new star map had been stuck in calibration mode for three days and that he was running the calculations for their next move via a makeshift program in his own rooms.  
"Hmm, then there's nobody to listen to us," she whispered and he regretted the instruction to pass on important conversations directly to him.  
"I can add the others if you like," he generously offered, but she shook her head with pointed lips.  
"Not necessary, my dear."   
"And what's up?" he then wanted to know and looked at the second screen where his calculations were running.  
"Does Ancona II tell you anything?"  
"Sure. Refugee planet under Dominion supervision. It's about to become a hellhole," he said a little distracted. Mira made a face.  
"A few of my friends and I tried to prevent exactly that. _One_ hellhole like Deadman's Port is enough. But of course, the Dominion plays its own game. Or at least the commander there."  
He nodded barely. "And?"  
"We could use your help if we don't want to jeopardize our reputation." She fluttered her eyelashes, which seemed ridiculous to the cybernetic eye in an unpleasant way, and he didn't ask himself for the first time how perfectly his alcohol level must have been balanced back then to find her excitingly-attractive and still be able to sleep with her. Fortunately, his memories were limited to that he had done it - and a few handcuffs...  
"And that means exactly what? If we dismantle the main base there, nobody might be helped either."  
"Oh, but if you take out the commander and his henchmen, they'll give way to more peace-loving people." She winked at him and he nodded weakly, which she took as an opportunity to provide him with detailed information.

Meanwhile, the zipper on her leather jacket slipped down more and more, revealing quite clearly that she wasn't wearing anything further underneath - which in a way only annoyed Matt. For her way of leading her mercenaries and running Deadman's Port, he respected her, really. She was a strong woman, but the impression she left she damaged by trying to underline her strength with a woman's weapons. He had liked the reserved, dear and nice Mira who had welcomed him in her villa for private negotiations, but the Mira who was coquettishly flirting with the eyelashes simply seemed... _wrong_. Just when she told him she had sent him some data, her jacket flicked open quite a bit further and almost exposed her nipples. His dislike of her grew and he actually considered commenting on it, but at that very moment Jim interfered:  
_"Don't upset her! We may still need her."_  
"So, Matthew..." Mira purred in between, "the business part is done."  
"I'm aware of it," Matt replied to both of them. "But if we are to take care of it, I must inform my authorities before they come up with something new again.”  
Jim laughed quietly.  
"You could also just change sides, you know. Here you would be your own boss. Apart from me, but you know - you can always talk to me..." The tip of her tongue brushed meaningfully over her upper lip.  
_"May I please vomit? Where does she get all the sweet nothings from?"_  
Jim laughed again and Matt sighed annoyed. "That's nice of you, Mira, but I feel quite comfortable here. I think Raynor and Mr. V will get back to you." Before she could say anything, he cut the connection.  
_"That was rude,"_ Jim remarked criticizing and Matt growled.  
_"Mira is rude. Actually, even disrespectful.”  
"Why?"  
"Because she doesn't respect my personal limits."_  
Jim sighed rolling his eyes. _"Oh, Matt... That's just Mira's way of flirting."  
"Then she's at the wrong address with me."  
_For a moment Jim was silent, then he said thoughtfully: _"About the_ wrong address _... I know you're not a friend of gossip, but you should listen more often to what others have to say."  
"Really?"  
"There's talk."  
"About what?”  
"About you."  
"And what?"_ Again, there was a pause.  
_"The voices say you're gay."_  
Matt blinked in surprise. _"How does anybody come up with that?"_ he slowly wanted to know.  
_"Well, there are now whole lists of arguments.”_ Jim sounded as if he actually found them conclusive.  
_"Let's hear them,"_ Matt said worried.  
_"You're flirting with women, but the only one who got more out of it is Jessica. And she has recently revealed some piquant details. Under the influence of alcohol, but well, yeah."_ Suddenly Matt was glad that he had already told Jim about the strange connection between him and Erynn.  
_"Do you think she'll take it well if I tell her that Erynn was in my head during this time and was making unhelpful mocking remarks?"_ he asked sarcastically and Jim grinned.  
_"Do you want to give it a try?"  
"Hardly."  
"There you go.”  
"And you know I've had the dubious pleasure of Mira before."  
"I didn't know it one hundred percent, but if you continue to be so dismissive of her, this public confession won't do any good."_ Matt sighed as Jim shrugged mentally. _"But the main argument is probably Valerian."_ Irritated, Matt raised a brow.  
_"What did the scumbag say?"  
"Nothing. But he carried the dying lynx around with his own hands, even though a Marine could have done it faster and more effortlessly."_ That was new to Matt. And then he asked himself the quiet question, how strong their three main fighters really were, because the difference in weight between him and Valerian couldn't be that big and to walk through a half-destroyed infested base with such a weight... He shuddered.  
_"Well, and it is rumored that you confessed in the awareness of dying to him that you are into him. That should probably explain your somewhat indecisive way of dealing with each other."  
"Ah,"_ Matt made soundless _. "I can't remember what happened back then."  
"Well, and Junior doesn't want to talk about it. Shit happens."_ Jim shrugged again before continuing cautiously: _"They say Erynn and Tychus have a bet on the matter, but nobody knows anything about that."  
"Ah,"_ Matt made again. _"Would it change anything if I was?"  
"Are you?"_ Jim wanted to know even more cautiously.  
_"No.”  
"I wouldn't know what it would change anyway. I think they talk more because otherwise you're a very distant and emotionally controlled guy. And talking about superiors is always more interesting than talking about neighbors anyway."_ Jim's last words were joined by a smile and Matt sighed.  
" _As if we didn't have any other worries..."  
"Everybody needs a little sunshine..."_  
Matt sighed again, this time resignedly. _"Thanks for the warning. If you'll excuse me, I still have an ax to grind with a certain best friend."_

\---

Valerian was surprised when a sand-colored lynx slipped past him and stopped next to the door of the transporter. And then he paused again, when a much darker lynx joined hissing and then turned into Matt.  
"What are you doing here?" Valerian wanted to know irritated even before Matt had completely straightened up.  
"Face my fear," Matt replied quietly and tensely. Erynn hissed at him and Matt rumbled suppressed.  
"Not a bad idea," Jim remarked and rose from his seat. "But who's in command now?"  
"Jessica and Swann are on the Bucephalus with Lieutenant Colonel Gibbson." Matt nodded in Valerian's direction, Gibbson was one of his men and had made a name for himself in a positive sense.  
"All right," both Valerian and Jim said almost simultaneously.  
"And what do we do with two lynxes that just pass for a snack?" Tychus wanted to know amused from the background.  
_"A snack that gets stuck in your throat, my streaky friend,"_ Erynn said coolly, hissing in Matt's direction as he allowed himself a smile on her comment. Valerian got abdominal pain. Despite numerous apologies and attempts at explanation, Erynn had not forgiven him even after three weeks, and now there was something between Matt and her in trouble. Whether the presence of two lynxes was the cause or the reaction of the dispute remained open.  
"You could team up with Tychus and Valerian and create a little confusion for them," Jim suggested when nobody else said anything. But the Wargen and marines present were just smart enough to keep their mouths shut.  
"Then we take the base from two sides-"  
_"No."_ Valerian was sharply interrupted. _"We stay together."_  
"That's not necessary," Matt said rolling his eyes, but then the two continued their conversation silently and Valerian looked at Jim shrugging. However, Matt's face revealed enough: Erynn didn't want him to be here at all. The silence in the transporter became unpleasant.  
"Prepare to land," the pilot announced a little later and everywhere transformations began.  
"Um... Tychus... what's that on your back?" Jim slowly wanted to know.  
_"What? Where?”_ The tiger made a jump forward, almost tore the darker lynx off his paws and turned around. The lion sat down irritated on his hind paws and thought of an illness, but Valerian shook his head.  
"If you'll allow me the comment, sir... it looks like a shoulder scarf made of cheese gratinated too long," one of the Marines said tinny and a soft giggle came from the others.  
"Well, you're not quite wrong..." Jim murmured and Valerian tilted his head. The orange-brown, bubbly and somehow crusty layer looked rather unappetizing.  
"Does it hurt?" one of the Wargen asked rough. Tychus shook his mighty head and Erynn raised a paw to knock against the coating. Her claws slipped off with an unpleasant grind.  
"Let's hope you don't look completely like that at some point," Jim said with a touch of amusement.  
_"Why so? There's something about an armored tiger,"_ Tychus gave back and flinched when the transporter touched down.  
"An armor of melted cheese? Well, I don't know..." Again some of the Marines laughed, but then the ramp of the transporter lowered and the upcoming fight came into focus again.

\---

Nova had been busy for days bringing together the individual strands of events, reports, files and thoughts. Really far she did not get with it. Emperor Mengsk's mind had told her that he could well imagine that Valerian had joined Project Bloodmoon himself - and thus acted as the wolf in the recordings. Basically, Nova could live with this idea because she could distinguish between Valerian's public image and his true personality, but that didn’t explain where the other animals came from. And everything she had read about wolves - including myths and legends - did not fit Valerian. A few essential puzzle pieces were missing and before she had them, the cat was chasing after her own tail.  
The tiny terminal beeped and Nova looked up. Erynn's code generator had been activated and the system calculated for a moment before beeping again.  
"Ancona II...? That looks like Raynor..." With a simple push of a button she sent the coordinates to the captain of her small ship and then rose from her desk. Time to prepare a few things.

\---

 _"This isn't about your fear, this is about your safety,"_ Erynn hissed and Tychus flinched.  
_"Could you please stop mothering me?"_ Matt hissed back. Since the fight had begun, Tychus could feel the two's quarrel subliminally - now it had broken into the general Hive Mind. Soaking wet from the rain, which had begun shortly after the beginning of the fight, the tiger turned his head to the two lynxes, who snapped just as much after the other as after the rifle of the Marine before them.  
_"Could you both just shut up?"_ he growled.  
_"Better not get involved,"_ Jim said with a sigh to Tychus alone; the other two didn't even bother to answer him at all. _"Before I met Erynn, I experienced exactly twice that Matt became a hothead - and it wasn't nice."_ Tychus snorted and tore away the chest plate of a Marine almost in passing.  
_"Our captain is such a controlled man that in fact only a woman can lead to such outbursts."_ With a well-placed kick to the back, he knocked over a Medic. _"Or a beloved man."_  
Jim sighed, _"Do you have to start with that_ again _now?"_ Tychus ripped open the chest of the Marine lying on the ground in front of him.  
_"Erynn promised me a beer every day for the rest of my life,"_ he shook his left front paw angrily, with a splinter of ribs stuck in it, _"when Matt turns out to be gay."_  
Jim sighed again, this time annoyed. _"Matt is not gay. And I doubt you can ever prove it to Erynn without using nasty tricks."  
"So you mean,"_ Tychus began slowly, who had turned around in the meantime and appraised the Medic, who had just laboriously got up again, _"if he gets caught in bed with a guy, it's not significant enough?"  
"And which guy would that be?"  
"Oh..."_ Tychus grinned as he sent the Medic straight back into the mud.  
_"He's very reluctant to tolerate even a pat on the back from you,"_ Jim said, rolling his eyes audibly. _"And besides, since when do you like men?"  
"Me? I don't do at all. But your captain has a nice butt - if you know what I mean- and said captain could fall into rigor of fear. That happens to some at the sight of me."  
"Matt is a lynx, not a rabbit. And by the way, your joke is getting tawdry."_ Slight anger crept into Jim's voice while Tychus ripped the Medic apart in front of him.  
_"All right, all right."_ The poor man breathed out his life. _"Don't take it so personally."_ Tychus struck a conciliatory tone that had always worked until now. _"I may have committed many misdeeds, but I certainly won't make myself a rapist."_  
Jim's answer was only a grumble.

\---

The mud was unpleasantly cold and extremely viscous. Valerian shook himself, but his mane was sticky - even the constant rain didn't help. After a Vespin gas explosion the base was very badly damaged and after having replaced some of the pipes, it hadn’t yet been possible to renew the road surface; accordingly the fights were quite slippery in some places. However, he didn't pay too much attention to the progress of the fight; rather, he tried to ignore Erynn's and Matt's quarrel, which repeatedly broke into the Hive Mind. Jim and Tychus were also rather silent and only the most necessary instructions came from Swann's side.  
  
Suddenly there was a plucking on his mind and Valerian paused. One of his lion-Wargen was dead. With a frown, Valerian listened more intensely into himself and followed the faint hint of what he had caught from that Wargen until he came to a part of the base destroyed by the explosion. In a side alley between the remains of two barracks stood a vulture that seemed to wait only for its owner; Valerian slid past it and found said owner, who looked as if he had made acquaintance with claws and teeth of a Wargen. About fifteen meters further there was a second body of said Wargen, which had turned back into a human in death. Frowning, Valerian walked towards him, but after just two steps he was overcome by a strange feeling, it was a little as if he had been given a mental cold shower and he shook himself reflexively. Carefully he went on and nudged the dead man with a paw, but he was definitely dead - there was a bullet hole in his forehead and it certainly didn't come from the handgun the dead vulture driver had carried.  
_"Hey, I have-"_ It felt like he was talking into the void. _"Jim? Tychus?"_ No reaction. _"Erynn? Matt? Swann?”_  
Silence.  
He raised his head, let the lion sniff and feel, but there was nothing. When he walked a few steps around the corpse, he noticed a blink half hidden under the corpse. What he brought to light with a wipe of the paw was a small round device, no bigger than a palm of his hand blinking in a light blue on one side. The lion was extremely irritated, but Valerian recognized it after a moment as a psi suppressor. Egon would probably be happy to get confirmation that their mental communication was indeed based on Psi waves, but on the other hand... Valerian made a sudden move, but he wasn't fast enough and his jump wasn't far enough. Two bullets bored into his side and cold immediately spread around the entry points. The lion exhaled an angry hissing, but three heartbeats later his right hind leg gave way in the middle of the jump and he fell. Panic flooded Valerian as the cold spread and his front paws slipped through the mud. He could feel his body fighting the poison or narcotic or whatever, but the cold reached his mind and filled him with blackness.

\---

The rain was annoying, but there were worse things. Mud for example. In a bad mood, Nova watched Raynors and Valerian's troops take apart the Dominion base. She concentrated on the animals, watching them with both her eyes and her psi, and slowly but surely a strange feeling crept in. She could perceive something very similar to the Psi waves, but not the same. She quietly mumbled instructions into her headset and watched eagerly as the young Ghost, who had just finished his training and was supposed to support her, let the first trap snap shut.  
Before the lion, who seemed clumsy with his soaking wet fur, stepped into the area of the little Psi suppressor, Nova mentally touched him and flinched. The mental signature was distorted, downright dirty, but it was Prince Valerian's. The Psi suppressor swallowed everything around him and Nova let her Psi glide over the other animals again.  
Whoever the tiger was - his signature she couldn't decipher, if she knew it at all.  
But the wolf she could identify as Raynor after a moment of close inspection. In relation to Mengsk's idea this was an interesting revelation and she slipped on to the two lynxes.  
The two were together the whole time, fighting close to each other, almost in a symbiotic way, which Nova as a loner found strangely fascinating. But that also led to the fact that she couldn't keep the signatures apart. They seemed to intertwine, to overlap and Nova could not tell where one started and the other ended. Then the two lynxes stopped and rushed away, reached the lion and hesitated. Just outside the Psi suppressor they stopped and it looked as if they were talking before they continued walking towards Nova's position. Carefully she lifted the stun gun into position and aimed at the darker of the two lynxes.  
"On the ship everything is prepared for our guest," the young ghost Greg suddenly piped up over radio. "We can collect him when you're ready."  
"Wait," Nova murmured tense. Her psi was still lying on the lynxes. The strange Psi-like cloud that surrounded them changed, actually becoming Psi.  
_"Don't shoot!"_ The haunting whisper of a woman's voice gave Nova goose bumps. The Psi and non-Psi changed and she understood: one of the two lynxes had to be Erynn, Valerian's adjutant, who communicated on two different levels. Nova's finger bent around the trigger. The emperor wanted one of these animals alive. Well, she could bring him his son and his playmate and apparently a dessert to go with it.  
_"Don't shoot! Let him go and I'll surrender!"_ Erynn sounded tense, strained, while the other lynx stepped nervously from one paw to the other. The two stood in the midst of debris and did not see Nova, the darker took a step back, unsteady, while the lighter lynx stepped forward and straightened its head.  
_"You surrender?"  
"Yes, big sister. If you let him go."_  
Nova didn't have much love for the respectful address among Ghosts. _"Then he should disappear."_ The weak presence in her mind vanished and the darker lynx flinched. He seemed to squirm until the bright lynx- Erynn- snapped at him and he ran hastily away.  
_"Sleep well, little sister."_ Nova pulled the trigger.

\---

Matt knew that Erynn needed a valve-and so he kept heating up their argument as he shielded the conversation as best he could from the others. When Erynn resented the others with rage, frustration and disappointment, they didn't need to hear it. Of course he had some part in her mood, but he didn't really want to think about it. And he didn't really want to know exactly what Valerian had done, but the hints were already enough.  
_"...there are things that you can't control, but does it have to be -"  
"Where is Valerian, actually?"_ Matt interrupted Erynn.  
_"What?"  
"Valerian."_ The two lynxes paused and Matt looked around. Tychus tore the armor of a reaper, but Jim and Valerian were nowhere to be seen.  
_"Valerian?"_ There, where in Matt's subconscious Valerian was always present, it was suddenly empty.  
_"Valerian?"_ Erynn now also asked, with a critically worried undertone.  
_"He took a turn there earlier, followed his Wargen,"_ Tychus said disinterestedly.  
_"I can't feel him,"_ said Erynn uneasily. A strange tremor ran through her body and she shook her head violently. _"He's unconscious,"_ she noted and jumped off lightly.  
_"Wait!"_ Matt hurried after her and sighed inwardly. A moment ago, she had been pissed about her princely lover...  
Sliding through the mud he wanted to know: _"What do you think happened?”  
"I don't know. But I don't think he simply fainted."_ The part of the base destroyed by the gas explosion had not been a battlefield due to the debris still lying around and the mud in front of them seemed untouched.  
_"Something's wrong here,"_ Erynn said tense and slipped around a corner. When Matt followed her, he banged against her in amazement.  
_"A vulture? Here?”  
"Something's wrong,"_ she repeated. They crept past the vehicle and stumbled over the driver's body. _"Claws,"_ Erynn said. _"Tychus said Valerian had followed some Wargen. But nothing here looks as if there had been any Wargen or a Lion."  
"Um..."_ Matt nudged her with a paw and pointed a little further.  
_"Valerian!"_ She flinched as if she wanted to jump at him, but then held back. Half covered by the lion there was something that blinked. Carefully she took one step, then another.  
_"What's that?"_ Matt wanted to know.  
_"A Psi suppressor, I think,"_ she replied hesitantly. _"Valerian is alive, I think they want him- or us- unharmed."  
"Do you think he's just the bait?"_ Matt couldn't quite imagine it and he felt Erynn's insecure hesitation. Then she growled and scurried away at the edge of what seemed to be the radius of the Psi Suppressor; he hurried after her.  
_"Where are you going?"  
"The Dominion is here!”  
"I thought so, but-"  
"Ghost!"  
"What?"_  
She stopped in the middle of a muddy street and stared at one of the buildings like spellbound.  
_"Matt, Nova is here."  
"Not good,"_ he murmured and remembered with discomfort their last encounter, _"not good at all."_ He could feel Erynn talking to Nova and stepped nervously from one paw to the other. When the Emperor sent Nova, his best ghost, he obviously knew more than it was good.  
_"Run,"_ Erynn hissed at him tense.  
_"What?"  
"Run! Take care of Valerian and tell the others."  
"I can't... you can't..."  
"Run."_ she whispered and something in her mental voice made him take a step back. _"Run!”_ She turned around and snapped at him, hastily he made a jump and ran away. As he turned a corner, he felt Erynn's mind slip out of his in unconsciousness.  
_"Jim! Nova is here!”_ He slithered through the mud.  
_"What?”_ Jim sounded completely taken by surprise.  
_"She drugged Valerian and Erynn, we have to-"_ Matt broke off. _"Erynn sacrificed herself,"_ he whispered in horror as it dawned on him. _"Swann! Look out for a cloaked ship of the Dominion! When Nova takes Erynn with her, Daddy Mengsk has a pawn which hurts more than a little."  
"On it,"_ Swann grumbled apparently completely unimpressed.  
_"Where's Valerian?"_ Tychus wanted to know.  
_"I'm practically with him,"_ Matt replied and critically examined the lion, whose chest fell and lifted trembling. _"A second.”_ Quickly Matt turned into a mud-covered human and slid through the mud more awkwardly on his bare feet than on his paws, but he needed his hands to throw away the Psi suppressor. Relieved, he found that he could feel Valerian again, albeit far away through unconsciousness.  
_"Matt?"_ Jim asked tensely.  
_"Here."_ Matt patted the lion's cheek rudely. "Come on, you big kitty cat, wake up. Nova is about to kidnap Erynn."  
_"I have a signal,"_ Swann let himself be heard.  
_"Where?"_ Tychus and Jim asked at the same time.  
"Valerian!" Matt shook the lion on his shoulder, his body began to twitch. "Come on, on your paws!" The lion gave a choking cough, twitched and squirmed and knocked Matt over. The cold mud on his butt made him shudder and he turned into a lynx again.  
_"Valerian, get up! The Dominion is here!”  
"Dominion..."_ Valerian muttered dazed and lifted himself onto his paws, Matt had to support him with his whole body.  
_"Nova is here, so move!”_ He groaned when Valerian staggered unimpressed.  
_"Other side..."_ Valerian murmured weakly and Matt blinked irritated before he went to the right side of the lion and prevented him from falling over.  
Together they staggered and slipped forward, the rain became stronger again.  
_"Swann?”  
"Jim is on his way. But the ship's energy signature is strange."  
"Shit,"_ Jim shouted in between. _"They're taking off!”  
"No!"  
"Erynn..."_ Valerian didn't sound as dizzy as before. _"Nova has Erynn?"_  
_"Yes."_  
 _"Damn..."_  
 _"You can't get the girl down that easy,"_ Tychus interjected, but his usual recklessness sounded forced. Through Jim's eyes, Matt saw the shimmering spot representing the cloaked ship of Nova. With a faint flash of light, the spot disappeared completely and Matt unconsciously let himself sink onto his hind paws. Valerian, Jim and Swann argued, but Matt felt for Erynn.  
Far away, at the edge of his mental perception, he could feel her, but as he reached for her, a glowing hot pain pierced his head.  
He screamed as the pain milled through him like a cutting torch through steel.  
He screamed as a small part of him became clear enough to see that Erynn had disappeared - not like Valerian, whose absence had been like a gap in a bookshelf, it was more like a crater in the middle of a city. Erynn had been ripped out of him and somehow it was worse than dying. In the mixture of pain, bewilderment and horror, he gave in to the instincts of the lynx, leaving control to the small animal part and then the lynx screamed.  
A cry full of pain and anger, helplessness and hate. He could feel the echo of it through the connection, it vibrated in every Raider he was connected to. Jim began to howl, accusing and angry, and the echo made Matt tremble - he was a Raider and like all the others he howled with his leader. He could feel some unwanted transformations, carried away by the force of emotions, and then Valerian roared. The comparatively small lynx shuddered next to the upright lion, whose rage washed over him like a tidal wave. He could even feel the men and women under Valerian's command roaring with the prince, because Valerian had opened his mind this much. Tychus joined the roar, Stetmann as a fox hissed tormented and Swann roared his rage as a human up on the Bucephalus.  
Matt could feel them all, all the many thousands of people who had reacted to his outburst of emotion and were now collectively embarking on something that shouldn't actually be. But the lynx didn't care and so did Matt, he just gave in to the pain.


	19. Master and Commander

The smell of wet fur and dirty animal stung Matt's nose even before he opened his eyes. He felt warm and secure, but he had a headache and fought his way into a sitting position, which was not so easy because there was a heavy fluffy paw on his side. A look over the shoulder told him whose: Valerian. He shuddered and staggered to his feet, but stopped in the middle of the movement. They were in one of the armories, which was normally empty, but now filled with hundreds of bodies in all possible shapes. Matt found himself pretty much in the center and was amazed with his mouth open as he let his gaze wander. Hastily he closed it again and looked down at Valerian. Thank God no one had seen this cuddling moment... A goose bump crept over his skin as he saw Tychus in human form nestled against a lioness, on his other side lay Jim as a wolf. Unclearly, he remembered the emotional outburst as the sharp pain of Erynn's absence reappeared.  
_And that's exactly why I prefer to stay in control_ , he thought shuddering and made his way through the sleeping masses on tiptoe. Without Valerian's body heat he suddenly became cold, the dried mud made his skin stretch and itch. When he reached the door of the armory, he turned around once more.  
_Together to the gates of hell and beyond..._

\---

The sonic shower in which Valerian found himself sitting was not his own. Vaguely, memories stormed him as he swayed up and leaned against the tiled wall. Pain and screams, but not his own, echoed in his head, and then he remembered having rolled himself protectively around a trembling lynx. But hardly in this shower. He left the shower cubicle, found his mud-glazed transformation underpants on the floor, which he quickly put on, and then left the shower area completely. Slowly it dawned on him that he was in the soldiers' washroom, which had to be somewhere next to the marine-suit rooms. And he was not so far away from the armory. He massaged his temples and walked slowly, too exhausted to transform, although he froze.

The door in front of him didn't open when he put his hand on the scanner pad and he had to blink a few times before he realized why not. It was private accommodation and not a passage door. Had he really come here as if in a trance? The lion growled disgruntled, tired and Valerian blinked again. _Captain M. Horner_ stood on a sign above the number pad of the door pad and Valerian snorted while the lion nodded confirmingly. His female had disappeared, so he sought comfort from the other member of his harem.  
_You're not serious, are you?_ But the lion just rumbled and Valerian really felt compelled to open the door. He could only hope that Matt hadn't chosen some random sequence of numbers. It wasn't his/Erynn's birthday, the door beeped warningly and then showed as a reminder the date when the code was last changed- it wasn't long ago and then Valerian irritated narrowed his brows. The day before, Matt and Erynn had met again for the first time after long years, when Char's disaster was still smoking. He typed in the date and shook his head when the door actually opened. The guy could say what he wanted, but his fixation on Erynn was not quite normal.

Matt slept and his face twitched as if he was having nightmares. Valerian just stood there for a moment and watched him, but when he made a miserable sound, the lion rumbled and Valerian shuddered.  
_I won't get into Matt's_ \- he slipped under the blanket before he even knew it. Inside he hissed angrily at the lion, but he purred happily.  
"Erynn...," Matt mumbled softly and wrapped an arm around Valerian's middle.  
_Wonderful._ The lion purred again and Valerian sighed silently. When he was mentally fit again, he would have a serious word with his animal side but now... Matt's warm skin on his had something soothing about it and his eyes closed.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" The slightly shrill undertone hurt his ears and Valerian grimaced as he sat up.  
"I slept," he replied, not half as discontented as he felt.  
"In _my_ bed!” Matt seemed anything but enthusiastic, he had frowned angrily.  
"Calm down again..." Valerian grumbled and rubbed his eyes. "The floor of the armory was uncomfortable."  
"Yes, thank you, I know. But you have your own cabin on the Hyperion." In the warm light of the bedside lamp, Valerian saw a vein throbbing violently at Matt's neck. He had retreated as far as he could and seemed to fall out of bed at any moment.  
"I know," Valerian said calmly, Matt pressed his lips together. "But the lion couldn't remember the way."  
"The... lion?"  
"Sometimes I'm not quite myself."  
Matt lifted a brow. "That explains a lot." The lion rumbled quietly and Valerian snorted. "Could you please disappear now? Before someone comes to hasty conclusions," Matt asked a lot more calmly.  
"What hasty conclusions? Oh..." Valerian grinned reservedly when he remembered the rumors that he was unintentionally not completely innocent of. " _That_." Matt's face said everything.  
"Get lost."  
"No good morning kisses at all?" Valerian wanted to know in amusement, found his new hairband- which was made of the same material as his underpants - half covered by the pillow and tied a disheveled braid, while Matt growled:  
"You can get one from Erynn as soon as we've found her."  
The lion growled angrily, and Valerian's answer got stuck in his throat when the lion said: "I just asked for a kiss."  
"Fuck you," Matt grouched and slipped out of bed - Valerian hadn't noticed it during the night, but he was naked, and the lion now groaned audibly, angrily and pleased at the same time; Valerian's whole body vibrated.  
"Kiss me."  
Matt froze, for a tiny moment something like panic scurried over his face, then it became expressionless. Astonished, Valerian watched Matt kneel on the bed and lean forward to breathe a kiss on his mouth. The lion purred contentedly. Valerian managed to push the lion so far away that he could get out of bed, but then he was pushed back into the corner.  
"Come here," the lion rumbled and Matt obeyed, positioned himself directly in front of Valerian and looked up waiting. "Kiss me. _For real_." In a tender gesture, Matt raised his hand to Valerian's cheek before kissing him. Valerian was a prisoner in his own body as he involuntarily wrapped his arms around Matt and returned the kiss hungry as the lion purred enthusiastically.  
_No!_ His horror gained the upper hand over the slightly distracted lion and he staggered back; Matt looked at him expressionlessly, his lips shining wet. "What am I doing here?" Valerian whispered bewildered.  
"Staring at me," Matt replied emotionlessly, and Valerian actually squealed before turning around and rushing out of the room.

\---

"How long will it take to get her ready?"  
"Seven to ten days, sir. But even then, the odds aren't good."  
"How they are?"  
"Maximum 20%, sir."  
An angry growl. "All right. Do what you can. And now wake her up, we have a few questions."  
Erynn knew the voice, but she couldn't match it. Probably it wasn't that important either, otherwise she would have remembered.

The chair was uncomfortable, but functional. Her ankles and wrists were tied to it and a belt wrapped around her waist. Something rubbed heavily against her neck and her temples were pounding disgustingly.  
"Mrs. Horner, can you hear me?"  
Erynn blinked and only now did she realize the room she was in. Metal floor, metal ceiling, metal walls. She saw neither door nor window, in front of her stood only a small table, behind which a slender middle-aged man sat to look at her.  
"You hear me, right?"  
She nodded.  
"Good." On the table lay a notepad, a single sheet of paper and a pencil, nothing more. "Please tell me your full name," the man said.  
"Erynn Josephine Horner, née Ashton." Was this meager setup normal for an interrogation room where psionically gifted people were held?  
"Your birthday?"  
"Fifth of May 24-77." She felt terribly empty and lonely.  
"Who is your superior?"  
"Valerian Mengsk." Her whole body hurt, but her head was the worst.  
"What is your rank?"  
She blinked at the man.  
"Your rank, Mrs. Horner."  
"I am Valerian's personal adjutant." _Mrs. Horner_ sounded terribly wrong.  
"What is your _military_ rank?"  
"Lieutenant-general." Why did he ask these superfluous questions?  
"How many battle cruisers are under Prince Valerian's command?"  
"Two."  
"Which ones?”  
"The Bucephalus and the Iapetus." This elicited a short frown from the man, then he apparently realized that they must have renamed the stolen Athena.  
"In the absence of Valerian, are you in command of the ships?"  
She was about to open her mouth to a _yes_ when she closed it again. "No." Matt stood as Admiral over her, theoretically she only had the command over Valerian's soldiers. The answer really seemed to surprise the man, but since he didn't ask any further, he probably had to work through a given list of questions.

Erynn could not say how long she answered questions whose banality slowly gave way to real importance. But the questions she was expecting about the Bloodmoon did not come. Instead, the man stood up at some point, took his papers and disappeared behind her through a door. In return, a young woman in a trivial uniform came in, holding a cup with a thick straw to Erynn's mouth from which she greedily drank. Her mouth was dry from talking and her stomach growled.  
"Can I have something against the headache?" Erynn wanted to know quietly and the woman froze. She looked uncomfortably past Erynn.  
"Well, if you're unlucky, the headaches never stop." Hesitantly, she pulled a phone out of her pocket and held it out to Erynn so she could mirror herself on the display. Hissing she sucked in the air. On her left temple, an implant access glowed with mustard yellow light.  
"No..." she whispered in horror.  
"Sorry, miss." The woman left and Erynn stared at the table until it blurred before her eyes. The average ghosts received such implants so they could be controlled, but she wasn't a ghost and wasn't even averagely psionic. And how had the implant been inserted at all? The emptiness in her didn't answer, although it was already an answer in itself. Without the others near her, she couldn’t transform, perhaps she was even so limited that her self-healing didn’t work. Of course, the psi-blocker on her neck did the rest, but still... Tears came to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks; she had never felt so inadequate.

"Well, well, that's not necessary." Before she regained her composure, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk stepped into her field of vision. His voice was soft, a friendly smile lay on his face. "We're handling all Ghosts so carefully, but that doesn't justify tears."  
_I'm not a ghost_ , she wanted to yell at him, but she controlled herself. He sat sideways on the table, his fingers crossed in his lap, and watched her silently for a moment. As so often, he wore a heavy leather coat whose golden epaulettes accentuated his broad shoulders, but the sabre and pistol he usually carried around were missing. Even though she was tied up and her body still deaf from all the stuff she had been given for sure, he considered her a threat; in other circumstances this thought would have flattered her.  
"You stole Project Bloodmoon, didn't you?"  
She nodded.  
"Was it successful?"  
"Yes and no. We had to adapt it first."  
"Ah, I see." The tone was that of a nice uncle, but somehow, she had to think of the stories of nice uncles who lured little girls with sweets. "How did you adjust it?"  
She shrugged. "I'm not a scientist."  
"Hm. Who adjusted it?"  
"The lead scientist of the Hyperion." Under his gaze she struggled. "Egon," she added whisperingly and earned a smile.  
"My son took part in it, didn't he?"  
She nodded.  
"He was given the shape of a lion, I heard."  
She nodded again.  
"And our friend James Raynor is a wolf?"  
Another nod.  
"Hmm, fitting, if you think about it. Wolves live in packs... Who's the tiger?"  
"A friend of Jim."  
"How is it that he could change his appearance? From a normal tiger to this... saber-toothed thing?"  
"Adaptation," she simply said. Arcturus looked at her thoughtfully. Was she connected to a lie detector via the implant? Probably.  
"Who's the lynx?"  
Now it was Erynn who looked thoughtfully. Why didn't he go on to investigate what concerned the tiger? Or was _Jim's friend_ such an obvious answer? And how would she answer the question?  
"Well?”  
"The lynx...", her mouth corners turned to a faint smile, "is the man I love."  
Arcturus raised a brow. "What happened to the affair with Valerian?"  
"Just because I sleep with him doesn't mean I love him," she said, eliciting another smile from the emperor.  
"Right..."  
Did she just seriously talk about Matt as the man she loved? Surprised by herself, she shook her head.  
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't do anything about the headaches until later," said Arcturus, who had misinterpreted her gesture. "Tell me... did you also participate in the project?"  
She nodded for simplicity.  
"What shape can you take?"  
"None.” Calmly she returned his surprised look.  
"None?”  
She shook her head.  
"We know that in addition to the wolf, the lion, the tiger and the lynx, female animals also take part in the fighting," Arcturus said slowly. "And since I know your file, I assume that you will stay at Valerian's side. But in what form?"  
Licking her lips, Erynn lowered her gaze. "The project was never tested on psionically gifted people and proved to be a failure in that aspect," she finally said quietly. "Only when one of the others transforms can I participate."  
"Like a parasite."  
"Something like that." That sounded quite degrading, but Egon hadn't been able to give her a real explanation either.  
"My doctors have examined you in detail over the last few days and stumbled upon something extremely unpleasant," Arcturus then said in a persistent tone after a pause for reflection.  
_In the last days...?_ "Yes...?" Frowning, she looked up at him.  
"You are infested."  
"WHAT?"  
"Oh, well, not like the usual sensors would register it, but you're definitely carrying Zerg DNA." That probably explained the quick adaptability... She shuddered and clenched her hands to fists. Strangely enough, she felt betrayed by Egon, although she couldn't remember anyone ever asking about his methods. Arcturus slipped off the table and approached her, his fingers stroking her fist, touching her briefly on the shoulder and then pushing her chin up.  
"Don't worry, Erynn, we'll take care of it. Because apparently the other rebels actually consider you a failure."  
She frowned, but he didn't see it anymore because he had already loosened the straps that tied her to the chair.  
"So far, there's not the slightest sign that they're looking for you."  
She could hardly imagine it, but she indicated a shrug. "Maybe it's more internal disputes. Valerian's ego is quite sensitive," she said cautiously and rose hesitantly as Arcturus nodded to her.  
"Oh, is he offended because you don't return his feelings?" Arcturus smiled and she hinted again at a shrug, this time accompanied by a smile. "The boy still has a lot to learn.”  
"Valerian is no longer a boy," she disagreed and rolled her shoulders.  
"As long as he doesn't give a woman like you the required respect, he will be." Now Arcturus sounded annoyed, but he waved at her to follow him, and so she stepped on a metal hallway after him. She had been dressed in plain cloth and her transformation underwear had been taken from her, the half-open shoes rubbing against her bare feet.

"Please, after you, it's your room." Arcturus opened a door and Erynn entered another metal room, but it contained a table and chairs, a comfortable armchair- and an uncomfortably large bed. Her shudder was intensified when the emperor put a heavy hand on her shoulder. She looked at him - his grey eyes shining in the cold light and a smile playing around his lips.  
_So much for the dear uncle... just wondering what sweets he has with him._  
"I don't even ask how my son behaves in the bedroom." His hand tenderly stroked her cheek and he bent over to her ear. "I respect women like you and you have served well. So I am gracious again." His hand slid up from her cheek and touched the access at her temple. Pain flashed through her and she saw him smile, then merciful darkness embraced her.

\---

Valerian put on a relaxed smile when Matt looked at him darkly.  
"I should have insisted on escort," he grumbled and reluctantly stepped into Valerian's best room.  
"My apology is only for you." Heavens, how many times had Valerian had to apologize for personal missteps since he had teamed up with the raiders? Too often, was the simple answer. Matt hummed some incomprehensible answer and avoided his gaze.  
"Wine? Brandy? Whisky?"  
"I have a dull feeling your apology will justify a lot of this stuff."  
Valerian snorted and stepped up to the bar. "Depends on the point of view."  
"I'm talking about mine." Matt stepped beside him and nodded as Valerian held a bottle of wine under his nose, whose indulgent consumption he could stand. He opened the bottle and carefully poured the dark wine into two matching glasses; Matt sighed.  
"Sit down," Valerian simply said and followed his own invitation. With his face pinched and holding the glass a little tight, Matt followed him on the other couch.  
"So?"  
Valerian let the wine circulate in his glass and hoped that the lion would allow him to make a reasonable explanation. "My lion shape has developed into a personality of its own who may fight me." Astonished, Matt raised his eyebrows. The lion gave a snort, but otherwise remained silent.  
"And the lion is gay, or what?" The words sounded bitter and derogatory at the same time, but Valerian was no longer surprised. Since Erynn's kidnapping, Matt seemed to have a hard time controlling himself, not constantly exploding emotionally in one direction or the other.  
"No, he's not," Valerian replied a little late. "He wants Erynn just as much as he wants you.”  
"Ah," Matt made as if Valerian had just given him an explanation that could answer all the questions of the universe. Unaffected, Valerian continued:  
"I don't know how he managed to control you, not at all. But believe me, none of this was in my interest."  
Matt snorted and sipped on the wine. "What would have happened if this... _control-thing_ hadn't stopped?” Now it was up to Valerian to sip the wine, while the lion gave him unpleasantly naked thoughts. He grimaced.  
"I don't want to know."  
"Good, because neither do I." Matt also grimaced and threw the wine down. "I didn't find it particularly pleasant to be stuck in my own body."  
Valerian hinted at a joyless smile. "I know." Then another thought came to him, which he pronounced when Matt got up to fetch the wine bottle. "But haven't you basically kissed me before? As Erynn, but still." Matt made an indefinable noise and stiffened.  
"That was in Erynn's perception. And she wanted to kiss you." With the bottle in his hand, he turned around again. "And in the end, she also has the fitting anatomy to sleep with you." Valerian had to giggle. Matt snorted again angrily and poured more wine.  
"Did you tell Stetmann about it? Of the lion, I mean", he asked then and Valerian sighed.  
"I tried it, however-" He paused when the lion purringly turned his full attention to Matt, who was just licking his lips shining red from the wine. "No!”  
"What?”  
It was too late. The lion rumbled deeply and throatily, made Valerian's body tremble up to his toes and stared at Matt. His gaze became expressionless and he stiffly placed the wine glass on the table.  
"Come here," Valerian heard himself whispering and invitingly spread his arms. Matt stood up and came over to him, snuggled into his arms and the lion purred. He put his own wine glass aside and then whispered: "Kiss me."  
As if Matt would remember the last time, he kissed Valerian as if he really wanted to, and to Valerian's own shame his body reacted on it. Under his hand he could feel Matt's heart racing, but at his crotch nothing moved; disappointed, the lion growled.  
_"What the hell are you doing, Junior?"_ Jim asked, suddenly horrified, just as Matt's kisses had worked their way up to Valerian's waistband.  
_"If I knew, I could tell you,"_ Valerian gave back and braced himself against the lion, who, however, did not back away a millimeter. In a somewhat unfortunate flood of thoughts he put Jim in the picture and he shook his head stunned.  
_"I'll send someone over and then we'll see if Stetmann can help you."_ The lion withdrew at the mention of the scientist and Valerian groaned relieved.  
_"Wait, Jim..."_  
Jim hesitated. _"Matt's free..."_  
And then Valerian gasped when Matt continued unaffected what he had begun under duress.  
_"Well... um..."_ Jim seemed irritated _. "Okay... I think... I think I'll leave you to it..."_ He seemed a little embarrassed.  
_"We'll talk later... with Egon...“_

Valerian's orgasmic squeaking broke the tense silence, followed by an extremely unromantic choking by Matt. The lion purred with great satisfaction, while Valerian, breathing heavily, hung on the couch, mentally reaching for Jim. Even before he had answered, something dripped on Valerian's cheek. He blinked and jerked violently as Matt spat the full load into his face. Disgusted, he wiped his mouth while Valerian, completely taken by surprise, just sat there staring at him.  
"Touch me again," Matt's hand painfully closed around Valerian's testicles and squeezed, "and there's nothing left to try again - lion or not." The lion growled angrily, but suddenly fell silent, when instead of fingernails claws drilled into the sensitive skin. "I'm not a toy for bored princes."  
"I-" Matt turned away, hate and disgust in the eyes. "You weren't under duress," Valerian finally called out to him.  
"Yeah, and I owe you my life, blah, blah." Matt paused. "Spitting in your face was worth it."  
Speechless, Valerian looked after him.  
_"Well..."_ , Jim piped up, embarrassed.  
_"Shit,"_ Valerian murmured and wiped his sticky cheek with his sleeve. Now Jim sounded slightly amused:  
_"And I thought the white stuff on your face was something else."_ Valerian simply snorted. _"Egon is eager to investigate you,"_ Jim continued a little more neutrally and Valerian growled.  
_"Was to expect."  
"I'll take care of Matt, but you make sure you get your shit together. I doubt Erynn would be very pleased to see you again as an eunuch."_

\---

Two weeks without Erynn were not much in theory, but the practice looked different. Matt's nerve costume felt like sore and despite his threat to Valerian, he felt anything but ready to fight, rather small and extremely vulnerable. He knew how the lion could fight, and being persecuted by such a creature in love madness was a little disturbing.  
"How do you feel?" Jim asked quietly, compassionately. Matt closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  
"Empty." He leaned against the star map, Jim opposite him, the terminals were unoccupied. He just noticed that Jim's response was long in coming when it finally came.  
"I hope greatly for your sake that someday you will find a woman you can love as much as your best friend."  
"If we go on like this, I'll die before I even have a chance to meet anyone," Matt muttered and blinked at the green glowing images on the star map. Jim frowned, but said nothing. For a moment it was quiet, apart from the subtle buzz of technology, then Jim sighed.  
"You know, I never imagined we'd end up like this."  
Asking, Matt raised a brow.  
"When we met at the Sons of Korhal, you were so convinced of Mengsk... I never thought we'd ally up with his son _against_ him, but now I can't get rid of the impression that you two have as much of a problem as Arcturus and I do."  
"I will exclude the problem of sexual assault and assume you are referring to a woman," Matt said dryly and Jim smiled. Matt was more than a little relieved that no one but Jim had heard of the...incident...   
"Actually, not even that," Jim said and rubbed his eyes. As he shifted his weight, a movement on the main screen caught Matt's eye. A Leviathan slowly slid into view from the left.  
"Zerg...," Matt whispered in surprise, but before he could call a warning over the hive mind, someone kicked the door to that mental room with brute force.  
_"I expect you on the bridge in twenty minutes."_  
Matt strangled and only the fact that he had already rested himself on the star map prevented him from collapsing. Jim wasn't so lucky.  
_"Kerrigan..."_ His voice was little more than a hoarse whisper.  
_"D-does she mean our bridge? O-or the Leviathan?"_ Also Stetmann didn't accomplish much more than a whisper.  
_"I certainly don't move away from my baby,"_ Swann grunted and sounded a little hazy _.  
"Yes, Jimmy, if she wants to talk, she should come here,"_ Tychus interfered angrily.  
_"I doubt it would be wise to upset a woman like her,"_ Valerian remarked thoughtfully.  
_"Junior, you speak a true word,"_ mumbled Jim, who had meanwhile pulled himself up on the star map. The Leviathan filled the entire screen now, but all the sensors remained silent. They might have three battle cruisers, but the Queen of Blades could probably infest all three with their entire contents faster than Matt could pronounce his full name.

Punctually the door to the bridge slid open and Matt involuntarily took a stance. He had ordered that no one would cross her path to neither upset her nor cause a panic. But when she stood there in the door, a hand on her hip and her head a little crooked, _panic_ wasn't the first thing that came to Matt's mind. Despite her otherness and the cruelty she radiated, she was still beautiful. She came closer, towards the six tense men, and then put her head crooked on the other side.  
"You know, guys, I'm just having a few questions. But somehow I don't think any of us like the answers." Her voice was surprisingly human, but she was pouring purple haze out of her mouth as she spoke. Also from the nose, the ears and even the corners of the eyes, purple threads of smoke curled up and Matt blinked a little disturbed as he noticed the haze rising from where a normal woman's nipples were.  
"Well, guys," she started again, "why isn't the infested alarm cheerfully blaring?"  
"I thought _you_ had it-" Jim was interrupted by Swann.  
"It's inactive."  
"What? Why?" Valerian asked irritated.  
"Egon asked me for it."  
The same one squealed. "Because of the experiments! I wanted a few... a few..." Under Kerrigan's gaze, he fell silent.  
"Tell them the truth." It was an order packed like a gentle plea.  
"I adjusted the alarm, but it would still go off all the time," Stetmann muttered and looked at his fingernails.  
"Because...?"  
"Because both Tychus and I exceed the recognition level of Zerg DNA."  
Jim, Valerian and Swann did "WHAT?" at the same time; Matt just opened his mouth while Tychus grumbled:  
"I had a hunch..."  
"What the hell were you thinking?" Jim snapped angrily, but Tychus held him back while Stetmann still looked downwards.  
"Maastricht had already used a little Zerg DNA, not much and not very effective, because he tried to hide it, but it gave me the idea."  
"Egon, what have you done?" Valerian sounded honestly horrified.  
"Without the Zerg DNA all this would not have been possible! No adaptation, no self-healing, no superhuman abilities, no transformation, no hive mind!” Stetmann's gaze twitched up, there was a violet glow in his eyes. "We'd still be squatting and moping somewhere in space if we were still alive at all!" After this little outburst, it was incredibly quiet and Matt swallowed hard. He knew again why he had resisted the project so much.  
"Which... which other questions do you have?" Jim wanted to know quietly and Kerrigan smiled.  
"A few personal ones." With these words she stepped forward and gently touched Swann's cheek. The chief engineer widened his eyes and Matt watched the silent conversation full of discomfort. When Kerrigan released him, he slumped down and she turned to Stetmann. The young scientist also broke to his knees, his lips moving soundlessly. Tychus and Valerian remained on their feet, but also seemed to be useless for the next half hour. And then the strange fingers of the Queen of Blades stroked Matt's cheek.

To his astonishment, he found himself in a kind of black-grey room and Kerrigan held something under his nose that looked like a frayed cable.  
"Do you know what it is?" she wanted to know.  
"A cable...?" he replied carefully.  
"No." She shook her head. "Your connection to Erynn."  
Irritated, he looked at her. "A frayed cable?"  
She sighed. "You've always been a little fanciless when it's not about Raider issues." Carefully she touched the frayed end and Matt felt as if someone wanted to roast his brain.  
"How is that possible...?" he asked and pressed his hands to his temples.  
"This is a psionic connection, Matt."  
Irritated, he looked at her.  
"The details aren't important now, but this connection has gnawed into you, used your psi and chained you together forever."  
"What... what does it mean?"  
"I could not only cut the connection as it happened, but I could completely disconnect you from it. But that would kill you."  
"That's not what I meant."  
Kerrigan smiled and narrowed the eyes a little. "You have Psi, or better, you would have had it. Considering the strength of this connection, you could have been what Erynn is now. And she could have been one of the strongest Ghosts in this space sector. But as I said, the connection ate your psi."  
Matt had to admit that he didn't quite come along.  
"You can fix the connection, but you'll have to find Erynn first."  
"What if that doesn't happen?"  
"It'll probably kill you." Kerrigan shrugged. "You're not used to not even getting the slightest reaction to your feelings in your deepest core."  
"I didn't even know that this connection existed," Matt protested weakly, but he knew it wasn't quite true. _Everyone_ had sensed that there was something special between him and Erynn, but if you spent so much time together from birth, it was probably nothing unusual. That there _really_ was a connection was a strangely satisfying surprise.  
"The line between _feeling_ and _knowing_ is sometimes thin," Kerrigan said at that moment. Although she was already touching his face outside this mental space, she was now stepping up to him and tapping on his chest. "Empty, isn't it?”  
He just nodded and she stepped back.  
"Sometimes you have to descend into the deepest depths of your self to see that there is still something left." She smiled and the image of Jim flitted through Matt's head. "And with what's left, there may be a lot to do..."

\---

With growing anger, Valerian followed the special broadcast on Emperor Mengsk's forthcoming wedding. Arcturus had never bothered to show the mother of his firstborn the proper respect, except for her funeral, and now he actually wanted to marry a woman whose passionate explanations sounded so unnatural that it hurt the ears. When Alexander had his say, for Valerian it was the last straw. He hurled the brandy glass with an outcry towards the screen, whose systems switched off directly due to fluid contact.  
"You bastard," he whispered, thinking of his father, "you're nothing but a hypocrite."  
Arcturus had told him the story of Angus and Arcturus Mengsk, the unadorned truth, and Valerian had promised himself and his father that he would not become like him, that he would not repeat his father's mistakes. Arcturus had conquered Juliana from an adventurous mood and then dropped her. Valerian had tried to conquer Erynn for very similar reasons - but he would certainly not drop her. His father had put her in front of his nose and taken her away again, but he wouldn't tolerate that. His resources were more limited than ever, but he had friends to count on. He had Jim and Tychus and Swann and Stetmann and... Matt. With a sigh his anger evaporated and he sank into his armchair. Probably they weren't meant to be friends, but they were allies anyway.  
_"You are a Mengsk, Valerian, whether you like it or not. And you should remember that if you want to defend yourself against another Mengsk."  
_Kerrigan's words echoed in his head, followed by those of his mother.  
_"Your father uses the people, he slurps them up like an oyster and then throws away the shell."  
_Actually using people like that wasn't something he liked, but probably he wouldn't get around it.  
_"Jim, Matt, can we-"_ He paused when a strange cold seeped into the connection and he realized that he hadn't even reached Matt. _"Jim?"  
"What's up?"  
"What about Matt?"  
"I don't know, Junior."_ Jim sounded tired. _"Leave him alone."  
"I just wanted to-"  
"Leave him be. When he's recovered, he'll be in touch."_

\---

_"In thirty minutes on the bridge."  
_Tychus rolled moaning on his back. Anna sighed in her sleep and he peered over her shoulder to the alarm clock, only to moan softly again. The alarm would ring in a little over thirty minutes and this accursed Admiral had already ordered them to the bridge. If this day became good, one could probably mark it red in the calendar.

Tired, angry, but on time Tychus reached the bridge of the Hyperion and stopped as if rooted. Matt had brought back his uniform and stood high up in the middle, his hands behind his back. Left, right and behind him stood all the officers of the Hyperion, imitating his posture. Despite the time they were all polished up to a high gloss, their faces in an effort to be neutral.  
"Good morning," Tychus said carefully and stepped aside, where a tired Egon stood and looked as if he wanted to cling to Swann, but he got no answer. It took a few minutes for Jim and Valerian to arrive, but both reacted very similarly and stopped in surprise.  
"Commander Raynor," Matt finally said and went two steps forward. Tychus could see that the expressionlessness in his face was different from his usual neutral one, somehow colder.  
"Captain Horner," Jim replied cautiously, waiting.  
"I doubt your capability to give proper and necessary orders," Matt formally explained, then took off a glove and threw it at Jim's feet.  
_"What is this?"_ Tychus wanted to know.  
_"A gauntlet. A challenge to a duel,"_ Valerian explained tensely.  
_"What the hell? We know that Jim is no longer quite in control."  
"Maybe, but he's connected to all the raiders."  
"A duel..."_ Swann said critically. _"So you think they'll fight for it?"  
"Yes,"_ Valerian simply said, while Jim slowly picked up the glove.  
_"The commander is a wolf and a wolf pack is led by the strongest alpha,"_ Egon said quietly. Alpha. Alpha and Omega. Tychus shuddered and thought of Erynn's sketch of the power structure and what Valerian had said about it.  
"Are we going straight to the training room?" Jim asked casually, as if they were talking about lunch. Matt nodded barely and then they left the bridge, Tychus and the other three hurried behind.

The door hadn’t yet closed behind Egon when Matt was already taking on the shape of a lynx and pushing his clothes to the side with a paw. Jim did the same and then the two dark grey figures began a dance that surprised Tychus in several ways.  
"It doesn't look like Matt at all," Valerian muttered to him.  
"No," Tychus mumbled in agreement. "And our lynx doesn't usually heal that fast either." Jim's left ear was shredded by a paw blow, but Jim fought back and ran across Matt’s snout before the two of them gave way back a bit, only to jump right at each other. Except for the direct fighting noises, both remained eerily silent and that caused Tychus serious goose bumps after a while.  
"How long does it take anyway?" Egon asked quietly, but with a shrill undertone.  
"As long as it takes," Swann grumbled, but Valerian shook his head.  
"With our healing abilities, at some point someone will have to give up because of exhaustion."  
"Well, might take a while," Tychus remarked dryly and crossed his arms in front of his chest, but at that very moment the lynx hissed and jumped at the wolf, they rolled over the floor, bitten into each other, and when they stopped, the wolf had the predator cat at his throat. Jim visibly slackened, through Swann and Egon went a short jolt and Tychus tensed.  
_"Don't panic, Tych, I'm still alive,"_ Jim said lightly and got up as Matt strutted back to his stuff on four paws.  
_"That's what I want you to be, Jimmy. Otherwise, the tiger really gets an appetite for his natural prey and-“  
"Tychus, don't..."_ Jim sounded irritatingly soft and damn relieved. Matt transformed and took a quick look at Tychus, who looked back critically until Matt lowered his gaze. The lynx would not rise up against him. Matt and Valerian, on the other hand, stared at each other for a moment and the tension in the room was almost touchable until Tychus growled softly. Immediately, Matt grabbed his clothes and began to get dressed, while Jim remained overly submissive in the background.  
_"Jessica."_ The audible call surprised Tychus a little. _"Jessica!"  
"S-Sir?"_ The first officer sounded very confused.  
_"Tell the raiders and the other two ships that Commander Raynor ceded command to me for personal reasons,"_ said Matt cool. Valerian doubtfully raised a brow, just like Tychus himself, but they both kept their thoughts to themselves.  
_"Yes, sir,"_ Jessica whispered in surprise.  
_" **Before** I reappear on the bridge, Captain," _Matt added a trace cooler and Jessica almost squealed,  
_"Very well, sir."_ She fled the connection and Valerian asked:  
"Was the tone necessary?"  
"That's what _you're_ asking?" Matt asked back coldly and with a touch of condescension.  
"You are usually known for your kindness," Valerian said frowning.  
"Things change.” Matt didn't say more than that as he continued to dress and now slowly Jim approached.  
The Comm cracked.  
"This is... Captain Hall speaking," Jessica said, and her voice sounded amazingly calm for having seemed distraught less than five minutes before; but without being able to quickly pull yourself together again, you didn't survive long outside normal society, Tychus knew all too well. "I hereby announce that Jim Raynor has handed over the command of us Raiders to Matt Horner."  
"Actually unnecessary," Swann grumbled in between and drowned out Jessica despite his lowered voice. "We can all feel it."  
"She shouldn’t only announce it on the Hyperion, but also to the others", Valerian said quietly, he seemed worried.  
"Oh, word gets around faster than you can transform." The grumpy engineer waved off and then shook his head. "But it doesn't matter which of the two is in charge. The Hyperion doesn't service itself." With these words he stomped away, a nervous Egon in tow. Matt and Jim had dressed in the meantime and the new commander nodded to Tychus and Valerian.  
"Come with me." It wasn't a request, it was an order. "We have a few things to discuss."


End file.
